THE-MYTH-OF-MENTAL-HEALTH

  Mental health is a serious issue in Nigeria that is unfortunately underrated. The people make physical health a priority while neglecting the mental health. This is because a malfunction in the physical system manifests in ‘tangible’ ways, unlike the mental system, which is more emotional, except in more advanced situations.

In Nigeria, there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of mental health services. About twenty 5 to 30 percent of Nigerians suffer from mental illness and less than 10 percent of the people have access to professional assistance. Half of those who do, have zero to little interest in using these services.

The mindset is the most important thing in the society. However in a superstitious country like Nigeria, the approach to mental health is not rational. The average Nigeria has a poor knowledge of mental health, its impact and service. Many perceive mental health issues as spiritual or ‘madness’ and avoid talking about it.

Depression, for instance, is a state of mind that makes one feel constant sadness, emptiness or lack of interest in life. It is not caused solely by one event, however it gets triggered by major events. Sometimes, it doesn’t get triggered, it just happens. It affects one’s overall performance. Words like “Get up!” “Smile!” “Be positive” among others, do not just work on depression. Sometimes, it is serious in the case of clinical depression, which has to be treated medically.

Nigeria has a limited number of centralised mental health service. Due to this, members of the society rely on locally available sources for support. This occurs often in rural communities. A 2013 study taken in Niger Delta showed that the citizens in the rural area of Niger Delta took their families to spiritualists as Rumuigbo hospital was the only main hospital that catered to mental health in that area. The long journey to access the few available sources was expensive and stress-filled. The service cost is also not affordable for the average Nigerian citizen.

Culturally, there is a stigma attached to mental health. To avoid victimization, a lot of people keep mute and suffer in silence. Psychiatristc hospitals have been considered to be places for those who are mad or mentally damaged.

So many factors contribute to depression and at least three-fourth of people with depression have low self esteems. One’s upbringing also has a lot to do with this; the balance of nature and nurture. It could also be hereditary. Sudden changes in the environment could also cause depression. Certain personalities also get easily depressed; the melancholy personality. They are the introspective people; introverts. They are not necessarily shy but they tend to bottle things up. One sad part is that many teenagers get depressed but they cannot confide in their parents or caregivers. These young adults are afraid of their parents; reactions, or the fact that they wouldn’t take it seriously or believe them. The parents or caregivers may even have a role to play in the depression. This is not to apropriate blames to a party, but to shed light on some crucial things. Repressing traumatic events or refusing to process emotions like grief and sadness, result in depression. It is like pumping air into a tyre continuously without letting any out. It gets saturated, and just a single blow might make the tyre explode in one’s face. Mental health works that way too. Going through so many extremely stressful situations without allowing space and time to process and feel these emotions. It might seem like strength until a trigger event which causes depression.

In a patriarchal world like Nigeria, men are dealt the harder blow of depression. Since they are not given the right platform to speak out or seek treatment without being seen as emasculated, many of them either die in silence, or resort to aggressive behaviours to deal with depression.

A major misconception is that people who seem to have it all, cannot have mental health issues. Almost nobody is immune to depression. It has to do with the emotional and mental state of health. Psychotherapy, unfortunately, is frowned upon in a society like ours. The belief is that only mad people need therapy.

Another sad part is that so many people are struggling with some sort of trauma but do not seek help because they do not even believe that they have a problem in the first instance. Parents and guardians should encourage a cordial relationship and friendship so their wards or children can find it easy to confide in them, experiences they are going through like bullying or emotional instability.

Awareness should be created and active steps taken to shed light on mental health issues. The people should be enlightened and myths and stigma associated with mental health, debunked and broken. The government should work on this by creating programmes that educate the masses. Mental health awareness should also be inculcated into the school curriculum in all levels. Non-governmental organizations should also make it a priority to talk about depression and take active steps. This is because creating awareness without taking active steps is almost ineffective. The people should also be encouraged to take monthly mental evaluation, especially university students as it seems depression and suicide is a norm among tertiary students.

Mental health is as important as physical health, if not more important because the mental health affects the physical, which is why many patients who are not mentally healthy, find it hard to recover from physical illnesses or injuries than their mentally healthy counterparts. The state of mind controls the physical.