Anxiety from the Political Climate in our Country
Our first A Conversation at a Time this year focused on anxiety stemming from the political climate in our country. Through open and vulnerable discussions, we explored how ongoing events have affected individuals’ mental well-being, their fears for the future, and how they are coping with uncertainty.
Throughout the month, we shared a series of written interviews on our Instagram, capturing personal experiences and reflections in a concise format. However, some conversations needed more space to unfold. Here, we are sharing the full-length written interviews—raw, reflective, and deeply personal—offering a deeper understanding of how people are navigating this season.
We hope these perspectives bring insight, comfort, and a sense of solidarity.
Do you feel you have the opportunity to openly share your thoughts about how the political climate is affecting your mental health?
Sharing my thoughts about how the political climate affects my mental health is not always easy. There’s a certain vulnerability that comes with admitting that the state of the world around you is taking a toll on your well-being. In a society where mental health is still stigmatized, and where political dissent can be met with hostility, it can feel risky to speak openly. However, I believe that advocacy and open dialogue are essential. While it’s difficult, I feel a responsibility to contribute to the conversation, to normalize discussions about mental health, and to create spaces where others feel safe to share their experiences. We need more advocacy more voices speaking out about the intersection of politics and mental health, more platforms for people to express their fears and frustrations without judgment. It’s a challenging path, but I believe it’s necessary if we are to build a society that values the well-being of its people as much as it values political power. Every conversation, every shared story, is a step toward breaking the silence and fostering a culture of empathy and understanding.
~ Anonymous
When you think about the current political climate in our country, what feelings come to mind?
Mainly frustration. Before I was angry, very very angry, especially at the height of the protests last year, but the anger started eating away at me and I was so tired of being angry. Every other day, it’s another protester killed, people are being abducted, insensitive speeches by politicians. I was just tired. That fatigue, however, turned into frustration because months have passed since the protests and NOTHING has changed. People are still being abducted, some are still missing, and on top of that, our government keeps playing us for fools, stealing money from right under us and trying to kill our forests, among other things, and I often ask myself, “Is this it? Is our country forever?” I truly wonder whether things will ever change.
~Anonymous
Have you experienced any mental health challenges as a result of the current political climate? If so, how do you cope?
Yes, I did. Especially at the height of the protests last year. I had a lot of anxiety and it never seemed to go away. I was on my phone constantly, looking for updates, tracking my friends who were at the protests, and this did not help my anxiety at all. I remember during that time, I couldn’t sleep at night. I would lie awake thinking about the families of the people who had been killed or who were missing, the people fighting for their lives in the hospital and asking myself, “Why would the police and the government want to hurt us, kill us? We have done nothing wrong but fight for our rights, for our country.”
My anxiety did not only come from seeing what was happening in our country but also feeling like I have not done enough. I only attended one protest and I felt so guilty about that. Despite doing everything else I could, tracking my friends who were at the protests, donating to the various funds, even creating infographics on topics surrounding the protests, I felt like that wasn’t enough. That guilt ate me up inside. What really helped me during this time was writing down a list of things I can control and things I cannot control. Then I would tick off everything on the ‘things I can control list’ and try and let go of the things I could not control. Other things that helped me during this time were logging out of social media at 8 pm every single day, colouring and watching my favourite animated films.
~Anonymous
Impact of the Current Political Climate in Kenya on My Mental Health
Wow, writing this brings so many emotions. It almost seems like yesterday the bitter nostalgic moment is “real” as I sit down trying to dredge up my thoughts regarding the happenstances of last year between June 18th and later on throughout the months of July and August. It’s funny how I can still almost smell the putrid fumes of tear gas, I see the towering water cannons splashing their way through the crowds, I can see gushes of blood on the ground near the CJ of Kimathi Street, people screaming, people shouting, people with placards, people with whistles/ vuvuzela. You could feel the streets pulsing with bated anxiety, anger and anticipation: we wanted our voice to be heard! Or maybe it was just me.
I had to an extent been very out of touch with Kenya’s political landscape not until the institution of the new administration post 2022 elections. With the new regime came new legal provisions, new policies, new tax policies and others with the Majority not being well received by the public. As a person who struggles with Anxiety/depression and gets panic attacks here and there, I remember in 2023, there was always this fear of the unknown. The questions that really boggled my mind was “where are we heading?”, “are these policies for the benefit of the general public or for the benefit of a few individuals in power?”, “what will people with meagre salaries eat and sustain themselves with the new tax policies?”. Especially for me, since both my parents are civil servants, there was so much worry and anxiety as the new regime seemed to target civil servants mostly. My efforts to elevate my anxiety seemed lackluster at best, heavily contributed by the discourse about the new regime in every social set up, on the news, on X (which I engage with) and on print media.
The anxiety symptoms were especially frequent in the mornings when I would open X (formerly twitter) to brush myself with what was going on around Kenya especially regarding the UDA administration. By that time, everything was negatively discouraging, but the irony is, I kept on engaging with the material. I simply had to be informed. When the Gen Z protests rolled out last year due to public outrage on the Punitive 2024 Finance bill, I was one of the individuals who by that time spent endless time on X and being fueled by detestation from the suffering of others and the terrible experiences of others, I decided to take it to the streets in solidarity with my comrades. Entering town, despite the horrific stories that I had heard regarding the anti-riot police and seeing a band of anti-riot police and all manner of men some in uniforms was very surreal. It was heart wrenching, scary even. I remember in instances during the protests I would get panic attacks and be at the mercies of guards of buildings (which were all closed) to let me in so that I could catch a breath or two.
After participating in two protests, one ended with protesters invading parliament. The after math was terrible. Judging from my screen time then. You can imagine spending 7 hours of your day reading stories of deaths of people your age, abductions of many youths; how the names of the abductees could even get as long as your arm. Insensitive remarks by the president and his entourage regarding the death of the comrades. Spending 7 hours of the day feeding yourself such daunting and melancholic news does something to you. Never would I think that the content I engage with on social media would affect my mental health in such a manner. Even though I struggle with depressive episodes, I recall this as a trigger. I was weary I was worn I was battered physically ,mentally and emotionally, despite my mental health deteriorating, I felt an unwavering need to stay informed and keep myself updated. The days felt so long, the atmosphere in the house did not help at all as the political regime was always the conversation. The Irony is that even though I knew I had to delete the app and limit the news I consumed, I felt guilty wanting to pursue that. I mean, how could I do that, it was like having disregard for the lost lives and the abductees just because I needed a break or two from the news especially regarding the political landscape. I felt entitled and hence I had to continuously, 7 hours a day engage in such content and being infuriated by certain comments and being emotionally affected by other contributions. Memories of that time almost make me shed tears. There was so much uncertainty and indirectly it ended up in me heading down a part of anxiety and depression heavily fueled by the obsessive scrolling through social media. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer sadness, bitterness, and evil of what I saw and that left a painful mark on my heart and psyche.
~Anonymous