Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Muthoni Passaris has revealed that she battled four different types of mental health challenges during her childhood, including dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n
In a moving speech on the floor of the House on Wednesday, August 7, Passaris shared her struggles.<\/p>\n
“Now I want to talk from a point of experience, having been somebody who suffers from many mental conditions,” Passaris began.<\/p>\n
“I’m not ashamed to say that when I was young, I was undiagnosed. It was only when I became a parent that I realized I was dyslexic. I had no idea I was dyslexic until my children were diagnosed, and then I started recognizing the same habits in myself.”<\/p>\n
Passaris recalled the difficulties she faced growing up with dyslexia, a learning disorder that affects reading and writing. “My handwriting is disastrous, I can’t even read it,” she confessed.<\/p>\n
“My teacher used to beat me so many times on my knuckles because I would miss the punctuation marks. My mind would go so fast that I couldn’t keep up with writing.”<\/p>\n
She explained that dyslexia is often misunderstood and can lead to frustration for both students and teachers.<\/p>\n
“Dyslexia is a gift,” Passaris said, citing the example of entrepreneur Richard Branson, who has openly discussed his dyslexia.<\/p>\n
“But a lot of parents are not aware, and sometimes you will punish your child when it\u2019s not the child’s fault.”<\/p>\n
Passaris also spoke about her experience with Attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that often manifests as hyperactivity and difficulty concentrating.<\/p>\n
“My father used to think I was so naughty because I could not sit still,” she recalled. “I was fidgeting, standing up, running around. When you have ADHD, you just have so much energy.”<\/p>\n
She emphasised the importance of understanding these conditions and the challenges they pose.<\/p>\n
“With ADHD and dyslexia, you need drugs like Concerta or Ritalin, which are very expensive, to help calm you down so you can focus in class,” she said.<\/p>\n
Passaris went on to discuss her diagnosis of Obsessive<\/span><\/span><\/span>-compulsive disorder (OCD), which she discovered later in life after visiting a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n “I was seeing Dr. Okonji (psychiatrist) for counseling, and I didn\u2019t realize I was suffering from OCD until my daughter pointed out my obsessive need to arrange things,” she shared.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a condition that makes you want everything to be orderly, and it can be very difficult to live with.”<\/p>\n Her journey with mental health challenges continued with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which she developed after witnessing the horrors of 2007\/2008 post-election violence.<\/p>\n “I remember talking to politician Millie Odhiambo and asking why I couldn\u2019t cry or express my sadness,” Passaris said. “She told me I needed debriefing, and that\u2019s when I realized I had PTSD.”<\/p>\n Passaris highlighted the difficulties many Kenyans face in accessing mental health care, especially those who cannot afford expensive treatments.<\/p>\n “I was able to afford treatment, but I know these conditions are not just a rich man’s disease,” she said.<\/p>\n “Anyone out there can have them. When you’re unemployed, you go through depression. When you can’t do your academic work properly, it could be because of a condition you might have.”<\/p>\n Passaris also called for better mental health services in Kenya, stressing that many conditions are treatable if diagnosed and managed properly.<\/p>\n “Our medical facilities and insurance do not provide enough coverage for prescription drugs,” she lamented.<\/p>\n In her closing remarks, Passaris urged Kenyans to seek help and to talk openly about mental health issues.<\/p>\n “These conditions require us to talk to somebody and to get the treatment we need,” she said.<\/p>\n “We need to understand that it\u2019s okay not to be okay and that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.”<\/p>\n She was speaking in support of a motion by Likoni MP Mishi Mboko, which aims to require the government to implement a policy that integrates mental healthcare services into all healthcare facilities across the country.<\/p>\n A few weeks ago, the politician said she was recovering from a recent surgery.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Muthoni Passaris has revealed that she battled four different types of mental health challenges during her childhood, including dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a moving speech on the floor of the House on Wednesday, August 7, Passaris shared her struggles. “Now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}