What is going on in schools?

FOR the past two weeks, we have been reading about a mysterious ailment at Biriiri High School in Manicaland.

According to The Manica Post, a situation arose where some female students were affected and continue suffering from a mysterious ailment that leaves them with painful, swollen and shivering legs.

This is indeed a difficult moment for the students, parents, the school, the church and the community at large. It is alleged that they were taken for medical assessment and treatment and no ailment was detected.

In such situations the problem may be psycho-genic, psychosomatic or soma to form. This means having physical complaints for which no organic or physiological explanation can be found, but the suffering is real.

Nevertheless, in this case, an intervention was organised by local traditional leaders and this sparked mayhem with various segments involved with the school and the students. As a psycho therapist and mental health specialist, questions such as; what really is going on, what is it that may be happening at the school and to the students are unavoidable.

There is no easy answer to this, no one answer, at all. Several people have come up with various interpretations on what may be happening to the children and why? The reality is that psychological, spiritual and environmental factors, may contribute to sudden-onset epidemics of such out breaks.In this article, I discuss through the lenses of a psychotherapist or a mental health consultant. My hope is that my analysis will provoke more discussion and continuous learning and growth in understanding such issues and how best to respond.

First, is it important to know that mass outbreaks like those happening at Biriiri are not a new phenomenon in schools. It is by no means an isolated case. These psychosomatic outbreaks happen in different shapes and presentations and can be interpreted spiritually, physically and psychologically.

We have read about and witnessed out breaks or psycho-genic or hysterical manifestations in schools. Studies with affected students have shown that signs and symptoms of these outbreaks range from; heaviness in the limbs, non-epileptic seizures, severe cramps, abnormal movement, such as tremors or difficulty walking, continual sighing, difficulty in breathing, constriction in the chest, palpitations, feeling of a foreign body lodged in the throat, swelling of the neck and of the jugular veins, suffocation, headache, light-headedness, clenched teeth, abdominal pain, nausea, hallucinations, delusions, anxiety post-trauma, general is ed and voluntary ten sing of muscles of locomotion etc. In many psychogenic/ soma to form disorders, treatment will be aimed at symptom management and trigger identification.The condition maybe triggered by a nervous breakdown, a reaction to stress, psychological or physical trauma, though not limited to these.

Remember that treatment depends on the type of functional disorder manifested, signs and symptoms. It is always important to have a multispecialty team approach that includes various health workers and mental health professional. Help is available and avoid interventions that cause more harm to individuals

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Dr Mazvita Machinga is a qualified psychotherapist based in Mutare. For more sensitisation, counselling and assistance with psycho-genic or psycho-somatic conditions you can call 0771754519, 0778 838410 or emailmmazvi@yahoo.com.