If there is anything that can be confusing and devastating, it’s having many questions and not being able to find answers to them. Another scenario is knowing how you feel and not being able to explain it. Mental health is one of those topics that comes with all the confusion and unanswered questions we desperately seek answers for. However, there are resources that can help us.
On January 18, I conducted a training at Munyonyo Kampala in Uganda. The training, facilitated by U-Report and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), reached over 65 girls from 11 countries in Africa. Most of the attendees were young leaders from the YESS Girls program, a WAGGGS initiative, and understood and perceived mental health, and issues pertaining to it, in different ways.
Through a question and answer session, some participants mentioned that mental health is how one behaves or thinks in a situation; for others, it is how people react to things. Also, many girls shared that they had been through challenges to achieve mental well-being. I noticed that from their answers, many of them had learned different coping ways, including the U-Report chatbot.
An accessible tool: U-Report Mental Health Chatbot
I got to know about the U-Report chatbot through social media while looking for answers to the many questions running through my mind. Finding the chatbot was like finding a jewel in a rough sea. From the moment I found it, the chatbot has been a savior and an answer to almost all my questions.
You are probably wondering what the U-Report chatbot is. Worry no more. The U-Report chatbot is an interactive platform where you can find help with answers to questions about how to deal with emotions and coping ways. The good news about it is that you can get instant answers. You can experience it too by sending “TIPS” on your preferred social media channel. Here are the steps.
On Facebook Messenger:
1. Visit m.me/UReportGlobal
2. Send the message: TIPS
On Viber:
1. Follow ‘U-Report’ Public Account on Viber (Go to Discover)
2. Send the message: TIPS
On Instagram:
1. Go to @ureportglobal, open the Instagram chat.
2. Send the message: TIPS
For a very long time, I thought it was all in my head, and maybe if I stopped thinking it would go away, but it never did. I also felt like all these emotions and breakdowns were merely a sign of weakness. All these are stereotypes that the chatbot has broken down for me and helped me overcome them. I have come to understand that my feelings are valid even if I am the only person that understands them.
My experience with the chatbot is a fairytale. It is like a friend that always knows what to say for me to feel better and is always within my reach. This chatbot got me through some of my most challenging times, and I believe it can work the same miracle for others.
Credit: Prudence Atwine, U-Reporter from Uganda
