Solve for X: Mental Health in a Pandemic Reflection Piece

Mental Health in a Pandemic, or as we the Next Gen like to call it a; Panarozzi, Panorama, Paparazzi or anything that starts with the letter “P”.

This month the X we set out to solve was Mental Health. Trying to solve such a messy and complex issue in our lives wasn't as easy as we thought it would be because there are multiple things influencing mental health and multiple perspectives to view mental health from.

So much was learned and expressed over the past few weeks. We kicked off the first series of “Solve for X” by debunking mental health myths with Joanne Waweru. This was done so that we unlearned and learned certain things about mental health. During the de-bunking session, it became clear that everyone needs therapy for both small and big things...small things can become big if left unattended.

On the 27th of April, we hosted the first face-to-face “Solve for X” event. The aim of this event was to create a safe space for young people to share their troubles and to come up with creative solutions to their troubles by using systems thinking approaches and tools. Other than creating a safe space, the event was aimed at breaking systems thinking down into a practical yet understandable way for young people.

Raw and vulnerable emotions about how tough the pandemic has been, and how it continues to be tough on The Next Gen were shared and heard. We heard from Next Genners who have decided to remove themselves from conversations that are toxic, that leave them with negative and degrading thoughts. Next Genners who alo shared how they have decided to be “grand” despite the challenges posed by the pandemic shared how they got to this point of being “grand”.

This was my take away from the event:

1. “Asking poo questions, will give you poo answers”. This means that one needs to ask the right questions in order to get to the right answers or solutions

2. Constantly asking “why” will often lead you to the root cause(s) of a problem

3. Looking at a problem as a whole will help prevent unintended consequences from arising. Unintended consequences often are a result of well-intended quickly thought through solutions.

4. Looking at the interdependencies helps with understanding what other people influencing the situations could be going through.

Some next Genners are choosing to try and have a better outlook on life, others are turning to nature and talking walks to help, and some are still searching for answers. Hopefully the Solve For X event helped them and will continue to help them.