{"id":3762,"date":"2025-06-03T08:05:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T08:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cradior.com\/?p=3762"},"modified":"2025-06-05T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:33:58","slug":"mental-health-campus-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cradior.com\/?p=3762","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health in Campus: Things We Don\u2019t Talk About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By June Wambui \u2013 RFM 99.2 & Cradior.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I smiled through lectures, posted selfies, and even laughed with my friends. But at night, the panic attacks came\u2014quiet, sharp, and invisible. I was drowning, and no one knew.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On campus, everything looks fine on the surface. The selfies, the good vibes, the loud parties. But behind it all, many students are silently battling a storm within \u2014 and we\u2019re not talking about it enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc94 The Silent Crisis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to mental health surveys in Kenya, depression and anxiety are rising sharply among university students. The pressure to perform, financial stress, loneliness, and social comparison have created a quiet epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not something you hear people talk about during chai breaks or group work. Mental health still feels like a taboo topic \u2014 something that\u2019s either dismissed as drama or buried under fake smiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udf93 \u201cYou Either Perform or You Perish\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For many, campus life is less about self-discovery and more about survival. Between 8 a.m. classes, endless assignments, toxic relationships, and part-time hustles, there\u2019s barely time to breathe \u2014 let alone process emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI couldn\u2019t tell my parents because they\u2019d say I\u2019m being dramatic,\u201d<\/em> shares a second-year student at the University of Nairobi.
\u201cIt\u2019s either you perform or you perish. No in-between,\u201d<\/em> adds a student from JKUAT.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These aren’t isolated feelings. They\u2019re shared quietly, in whispers, when no one else is listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude36\u200d\ud83c\udf2b\ufe0f Coping in Silence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So how do students cope?
Some drown themselves in parties. Others rely on substances to escape. Many try to be the \u201cstrong friend,\u201d offering advice while secretly falling apart themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep deprivation becomes the norm. Overthinking becomes a habit. Burnout becomes invisible\u2014because if you look okay, people assume you are<\/em> okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udeab Why We Keep Quiet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n