Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has revealed that she had to fight four types of mental health challenges during her childhood.
Passaris took to the floor of the House on Wednesday and narrated to her colleagues how she battled dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I want to talk from a point of experience being somebody who actually suffers many mental conditions. I'm not ashamed to say that when I was young I suffered from some of these conditions," she said.
"I actually came to realise when I was much older as a parent that I was dyslexic, I had no idea until when my children were diagnosed with the condition that's when I realised that I had it. First of all my handwriting is bad, I can’t even read it," Passaris revealed.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate with letters and words.
Passaris said she used to miss the conjugation - the variation of the form of a verb in an inflected language such as Latin, by which the voice, mood, tense, number and person are identified.
This, she said, would make her mind race so fast.
"One of the things you really suffer from when you are dyslexic is mathematics because if somebody tells you to write 1986 you will write 1968 because you take the last number first so a lot of parents are not aware."
Passaris further revealed that her teacher used to beat her to improve her handwriting including starting sentences with capital letters and putting a full stop at the end.
On battling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the legislator said this made her come off as stubborn.
A person with ADHD has differences in brain development and brain activity that affect attention, the ability to sit still and self-control.
"My father used to think that I was so naughty; I could not listen, I could not sit still. I was running around, going to the corner and I couldn’t even stay there. I just had so much energy," Passaris said.
She said a person suffering from ADHD needs medication to stay calm but the downside is that the drugs are very expensive.
The MP admitted that nobody at her school knew that she had such a mental challenge.
She said she once went to see a psychiatrist who knew that she was battling some mental issues.
But during examination, the psychiatrist told her she had another mental challenge; obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
"What happened is that I was in his clinic and I used to see that his tiles were actually disorderly and one day I told him that I wanted to give you a Christmas present so can I do tiles for you," she said.
The psychiatrist, she said, told her that that is how he knew she had a problem.
OCD often centers on themes such as the fear of germs or the need to arrange objects in a specific manner.
After the 2007/2008 post election violence, Passaris said she never cried despite witnessing the bloodshed. She was just sad but unable to cry.
On medical assessment, she was informed that she suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
This is a mental condition triggered by a terrifying event, causing flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety.
Passaris said that the good news for her was that she battled through the ailments while on treatment and support.
"I was able to afford the treatment but I know these are not rich men's diseases; these conditions are for everybody yet medical facilities and insurances do not provide for prescription drugs," she regretted.
Passaris was speaking while contributing to a motion by Likoni MP Mishi Mboko that seeks to compel the government to develop a policy integrating mental healthcare services in all healthcare facilities in the country.
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