An 18-year-old software developer has created an iOS app to help those on the autistic spectrum in their day-to-day lives.

Ethan Shallcross, who has a form of autism and lives in the English town of Torquay, developed Aumi to enable people to manage their anxiety, monitor their mental health and reduce burnout. 

“The app has been built with people on the autism spectrum in mind, and his has influenced the design and functionality of the entire app,” he says. “However, it is not just for people on the autism spectrum. People who have high anxiety, are frequently burnt out, or struggle with their mental health may also find it useful.” . . .

Read more by Nicholas Fearn at Forbes

Somedics Polyclinic Health Center
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 6645 934 744

Doctors Plaza
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 769 533 797

Mind Matters Counselling and Human Development
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 743 534 604

London Health Centre
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 744 542 542

Rabinnsia Memorial Hospital
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 659 125 858

Msasani Peninsula Hospital
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 766 344 996

Mwananyamala Referral Hospital
Location: Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 (0) 22 760 499

Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre
Location: Kilimanjaro
Contact: +255 (0) 272 754 381

Jordan University College
Location: Morogoro
Contact: +255 787 572 252

Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital
Location: Mbeya
Contact: +255 (0) 252 250 3456

Mirembe Mental Health Hospital
Location: Dodoma
Contact: +255 (0) 262 394 570

Arusha Mental Health Trust
Location: Arusha
Contact: +255 767 888 006

Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University
Location: Tanga
Contact: +255 (0) 272 977 003

Zumba
Time: Monday and Thursday at 17:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Karate
Time: Everyday at 16:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Power Yoga
Time: Tuesday at 19:00pm and Friday at 17:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Ballet with Diana
Time: Wednesday at 16:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Swimming with Makame
Time: Everyday from 7:00am
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Beach Volleyball
Time: Everyday from 6:00am – 21:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Tennis
Time: Everyday from 6:00am – 21:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Horseback Riding
Time: Everyday from 7:00am – 18:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Kayaking
Time: Everyday from 7:00am – 18:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Water Aerobics
Time: Saturday from 11:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Azura, Kawe, Dar es Salaam

Pilates
T ime: Monday 9:00am – 10:00am
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

Karate
Time: Tuesday 17:30 – 18:30
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

Kick boxing
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Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
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Boot Camp
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Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
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Traditional drumming
Time: Wednesday 16:30 – 17:30
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

Capoiera
Time: Saturday 14:30 – 15:30
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

African Dance
Time: Saturday 15:30 – 16:30
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

Latin Dance
Time: Friday 19:30 – 21:30 and Saturday 17:30 – 20:00
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

Hip Hop Kids
Time: Thursday 17:30 – 18:30
Location: Hit Fitness Studio, Mahando street, Masaki, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 654 302 307

Private Karate Lessons for adults and children
Teacher: Rutashobya W Ringo
Contact: +255 767 909 801

Women only fitness classes
Fee: Tsh 150,000 per month, Tsh 300,000 per 3 months
Location: Behind Engen Petrol Station, Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam
Contact: +255 758 855 854
nubunduafrikatz@gmail.com

Arusha Swim Club
Description: for beginners, intermediates and experts of all ages
Location: St. Constantine International School, 2316 Dodoma Road, Burka, Arusha

Kid’s Muay Thai Classes
Location: Masaki and near Mlimani City
Contact: +255 658 767 334, +255 783 780 702

Martial Arts and Self-Defense Classes
Contact: +255 783 780 702

In Tanzania many people deal with mental health issues by either ignoring the problem or depending solely on religious methods. Spirituality is a good thing, however, many people do not realize that you can in fact get medication and professional (medical) help that can manage or even cure a mental health issue. In some cases what is needed is a trained professional to help guide a person through their processes.

So, in order to help facilitate better knowledge of mental health, and in order to help those who have or are experiencing something that should be addressed, below is a glossary or list of some (not all) of the most common mental health issues:

(Note – If you go to the section of this website labeled “Counseling” you can find professional and medical help for a mental health issue).

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

is a chronic condition marked by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and sometimes impulsivity.

Alcoholism

Addiction to the consumption of alcoholic drink; alcohol dependency.

Alzeimer’s Disease

Alzeimer’s disease can occur in middle to old age and symptoms include: Memory loss. Memory loss is the key symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. An early sign of the disease is usually difficulty remembering recent events or conversations. As the disease progresses, memory impairments worsen and other symptoms develop.

At first, a person with Alzheimer’s disease may be aware of having difficulty with remembering things and organizing thoughts. A family member or friend may be more likely to notice how the symptoms worsen.

Anxiety Disorder

Symptoms include:

• Feeling nervous, restless or tense
• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
• Having an increased heart rate
• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Feeling weak or tired
• Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry
• Having trouble sleeping
• Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
• Having difficulty controlling worry
• Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Autism

Persons with autism may exhibit some of the following traits:

• Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
• Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
• Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
• Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
• Tantrums
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
• Little or no eye contact
• Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
• Sustained odd play
• Spins objects
• Inappropriate attachments to objects
• Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
• No real fears of danger
• Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing tests in normal range.

Bipolar Disorder

A disorder that causes severe and unusually high and low shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels as well as unusual shifts in the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. (Also known as Manic Depression).

Dementia

Dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with your daily life. It isn’t a specific disease, but several different diseases may cause dementia.

Though dementia generally involves memory loss, memory loss has different causes. Having memory loss alone doesn’t mean you have dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of a progressive dementia in older adults, but there are a number of causes of dementia. Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms may be reversible.

Depression

Lack of interest or pleasure in daily activities, sadness and feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt that are severe enough to interfere with working, sleeping, studying, eating and enjoying life.

Down Syndrome

Down syndrome (DS or DNS), also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is typically associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual disability, and characteristic facial features. The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental ability of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but this can vary widely.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are a range of conditions expressed through abnormal or disturbed eating habits.

These generally stem from an obsession with food, body weight or body shape and often result in serious health consequences. In some cases, eating disorders even result in death.

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and changes in sleeping or eating patterns.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and to the outside world.

Schizophrenia

A severe mental disorder that appears in late adolescence or early adulthood. People with schizophrenia may have hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, loss of personality, confusion, agitation, social withdrawal, psychosis and/or extremely odd behavior.

Substance Abuse

Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others, and is a form of substance-related disorder.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(Some issues are not disorders, such as):

• Family therapy
• Marriage counseling
• Experience of abuse
• Greif

______________________________________________________________________________

(Some issues simply have to do with improving mental wellness, such as):

• Career development
• Life coaching
• Dealing with day to day stress
• Learning to cope with a certain transition
• Maintaining balance in one’s life

Sources:

NIH: National Institute of Mental Health https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/raise/glossary.shtml

Understanding ADHD: The Basics https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/understanding-adhd-basics

Autism Awareness Center https://autismawarenesscentre.com/definition-autism/

Substance Abuse: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_abuse

Alcoholism https://www.google.com/search?q=Dictionary

Postpartum Depression: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression

Down Syndrome: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

Common Types of Eating Disorders and Their Symptoms https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders