ACWECA PLENARY: Religious Women Advised to Seek Healthy Community Living, Mental Health of Members

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

Religious women attending the ongoing 19^th Plenary Assembly for the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) in Lilongwe, Malawi have been called upon to embrace communal spirit so that together they can develop greater resilience to help prevent symptoms of distress and anxiety.

“For the Religious, community life can be compared to the natural family a child needs. That means it is a place for growth,” Sr. Lina Siabana said Wednesday, August 21, while addressing over 200 delegates drawn from the ACWECA region which comprises 10 countries.

The week-long Plenary Assembly that was officially opened with a Eucharistic celebration on Monday, August 19, is being held under the theme ‘Transformative Holistic Formation for Authentic lLving Towards a Deeper Evangelization in the ACWECA Region and Beyond’.

According to Sr. Siabana a member of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA), community life plays a key role in the human and spiritual development of religious women just as, the “Physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of children depends on the conditions of the family.”

“As community matures, people become more and more human hence a good and normal community builds an orderly, open, joyful, trusting, simple, and creative family life, lived in Faith and in sisterhood around Christ,” the Zambian nun working with refugees in Uganda narrated to the delegates.

As a concern in society today, Sr. Siabana said, “Mental health affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.”

Besides, she narrated that mental well-being which is a basic human right, is an integral component of health that strengthens individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships for socio-economic development, and shape the world.

The nun who has expertise in offering psychotherapy services for those with mental disorders disclosed that mental health problems can cover a broad range of disorders, including effects on “a person’s personality, thought processes or social interactions,” making these symptoms difficult to diagnose, unlike physical illnesses.”

She further advised on various strategies for self-care to prevent mental illnesses including; finding a sense of purpose in life, being optimistic, ready to embrace change, building positive beliefs and abilities, mediation and relaxation, spiritual reading, and surrounding oneself with positive people among others.

“While there is no single cause of mental illness there are a number of risk factors including biological, psychological, and social factors,” Sr. Siabana said and concluded, “Early intervention is key to preventing mental illness from progressing and leading to more serious complications.”