Mental health experts have warned politicians and their supporters to manage expectations as the country gears up for the 2021 general elections.As Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate the World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10, October, 2020, experts urged politicians and supporters to control their emotions even before the election.Speaking to NBS Television, Cabrone Mukibi, a clinical psychologist said anxiety about the outcome of the elections could easily lead to depression especially if their hopes are disappointed. Mukibi said, “We see that when someone loses, they become depressed because expectations have not been met. This is why expectations need to be managed.”He added that the best way to manage the expectations is mentally and emotionally prepare oneself for good or bad news and not lean to one extreme.“Govern your expectations and make sure you’re not so extreme, and not so unmotivated because both extremism and insufficiency are disorders. You can not lead others if you can not control your emotions,” Mukibi said.Mukibi urged the politicians and their supporters to always seek continuous clinic assessment because they are prone to mental health issues.“They should come for psychotherapy and assessment screening the way we go for HIV tests. We are all prone to depression,” Mukibi said.Joseph Mwebaze, a team leader at Exulansis Uganda, also urged government to invest in counselling services for the politicians because they are at high risk.Mwebaze said:”Let the government invest in counseling services for politicians if we are to have a better Uganda because a better country begins in the mind.”According to the Wikipedia description, mental health is the level of psychological well-being or an absence of mental illness.It is the state of someone who is “functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment”.This year’s mental health day theme was, “Mental Health for all.”
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