I WAS initially reticent to write about this topic but on a second thought, I felt I should for the relevance of the topic to our society and especially for the patients of mental health issues. Let’s take a brief and broader look about mental health.
Nigeria’s mental health policy was formulated in 1991, but it did not make adequate provision for community-based psychiatric care. Since there are only seven government-owned psychiatry facilities in Nigeria and these are always overwhelmed, there is the need to overhaul the existing policy and emphasise the urgency of a shift from inpatient psychiatric mental healthcare towards a community-based multidisciplinary psychiatric healthcare system.
The burden of psychiatric disorders better known as mental health worldwide is huge and it does not spare low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), such as Nigeria, where the burden of disease is currently great. According to World Health Organization (WHO), one in every four Nigerians has mental illness.
Globally, many people who experience mental health imbalance are reluctant to seek help, because of the stigma associated with it. Although the spectre of stigmatisation negatively impacts seeking help, there is little information about the nature of the associated factors that govern the avoidance of medical treatment. Of note, it has been reported that unmet needs for mental health treatment are particularly commonplace in LMICs.
I wish to discuss issues surrounding mental health stigma in Nigeria on this column, which as Africa’s most populous country as a microcosm for the continent as a whole. I also wish discuss the need to shift psychiatric care from a hospital-based program to a multidisciplinary community-based system involving psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and occupational therapists, with active support from community and religious elders, which is extremely important in a Nigerian context.
But before then, let’s look at the tit-bits of mental health:
What is Mental Health?
Mental Health is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships, and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community, and socio-economic development.
Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood to adolescence and adulthood.
Let’s look at the causes of mental health imbalance. There are so many causes of mental health problems today, some of which are:
Childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect which could be parental or social.
Social isolation or loneliness.
Experiencing discrimination and stigma, including racism.
Social disadvantage, poverty, or debt.
Bereavement, severe or long-term stress.
Having a long-term physical health condition.
There are numerous signs of mental illness, among which are:
Feeling sad or down all the time, confused thinking, or reduced ability to concentrate in school for children or workplace for adults.
Excessive fears or worries over nothing
Extreme mood changes of highs and lows.
Withdrawal from activities and the outside world.
Significant tiredness, low energy, sleep deprivation and
Too much sleep
Having said that, let’s look at how how mental health has crept into our society and has affected our way of life especially for our sisters, wives, mothers and daughter. Today, the key cause of mental health imbalance amongst women is marital abuse especially infidelity and violence, let’s talk about marital violence.
There is evidence that between half and two-thirds of Nigerian women have experienced domestic violence and that this is higher in some ethnic groups than others. yet, studies that examine the ethnic dimensions of domestic and marital violence are conspicuously missing in the literature. I wish to fill this void using this column with narratives of true happenings across the country.
A little research I did shows the significant ethnic differences with southeastern women more likely to have experience sexual, physical, and emotional abuse compared to Southern women. Northern women are however less likely to experience physical and sexual violence but not emotional violence.
Similarly, those who are married to spouse who thought partner beating was justified were more likely to have experienced all types of violence, both genders inclusive. The independent effects of ethnicity on domestic violence suggest that specific interventions may be needed for women belonging to different ethnic groups if the problem of domestic violence is to be dealt with effectively in Nigeria.
Women with domineering husbands were significantly more likely to experience physical, sexual, and emotional violence.
According to a 2019 survey by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, 30% of Nigerian women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, while a shocking 68% have encountered emotional, economic, or sexual abuse.
Facts everyone should know about domestic violence are:
– Domestic abuse is more than just physical or sexual violence…
– Both women and men can be victims. …
– Abuse is never the victim’s fault. …
– Help is available.
It is worthy of note to understand that Mental Health is as important as physical health and it is time to break the chain in solidarity and support for everyone fighting their inner battles.
In the corners of our hearts, there exist pains unspoken, battles unseen, struggles unheard. The journey of mental health challenges is an attestation to the strength of the human spirit.
Each day, those struggling with the battle of mental health face a world that misapprehends or stigmatizes their pain. They carry pain not visible, yet they persist in showing marvelous strength of the mind in the face of hardship. Mental Health struggles can be transformed into stories of resilience, aspiration, and endurance.
SPEAK, REACH OUT. HELP IS AVAILABLE.
To be continued…
Kabara, is a writer and public commentator. Her syndicated column, Voice, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays.