A medical student, Ms Victory Agbroko has advised Nigerians against stigmatizing people with mental health challenge, noting that what the people need is help.
In a telephone chat with the publisher of Realtime.ng (RT), she stated that mental health has been an overlooked topic in our society for a long time, but added that with recent programmes put in place to create awareness in view of spike in suicide attempts and mental related suicide cases in our society, the illness is gaining attention.
While giving an overview of mental health challenge, Ms Agbroko who has interest in psychiatric medical care, said ‘good health is all-round wellness. It is not just the absence of disease, but also the perfect balance between physical, spiritual, mental and emotional well-being’.
She noted that mental health is the sum total of emotional, psychological and social well-being – which affects how we feel, think and act. It also helps to determine how we handle stress, react and respond to stimuli, relate to others and make choices.
Mental health is the health of our minds, hearts and souls. It is our psyche. If our bodies are hurt, we immediately seek help from specialists or professionals. Therefore, we must also take down the stigma around mental health, and learn to seek help when our psyches are hurt or injured, she said.
The ailment is important at every stage of life – from childhood, to adolescence, through adulthood.
According to her, many factors influence our mental health. From biological factors (the chemicals in our brains), to life experiences, (good and bad) and even a family history of mental health problems, or genetic predisposition to mental health issues.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stresses that mental health is “more than the absence of mental disorders or disabilities”. A sound mental health involves looking after on-going wellness and happiness, the medical student stated, adding that ‘there are many different mental illnesses’.
She highlighted some signs that indicate decline in mental health stability to include:
- Low energy levels.
- Feelings of helplessness or hopelessness.
- Deep sadness that blinds you to positive happenings.
- Thinking of harming yourself or others.
- Loss of interest in activities that previously excited you.
- Substance abuse (hard drugs/smoking drinking).
- Withdrawal (pulling away from loved ones).
It is important to note that mental health problems are common and help is available for people who experience these problems and that people with mental health issues can get better and many recover completely with adequate medical care and support from loved ones, she noted.
Statistically, people who had suffered from a decline in mental health but failed to receive prompt medical care had their conditions worsen over time. However, in recent times, there has been a significant response from the public to mental health problems as patients are either being counselled or are voluntarily coming forward to receive medical attention at the early onset of symptoms the promising student said. Even so, this response is still not enough, as the rate of psychological distress among members of the society, particularly the youth, teenagers and children are rapidly rising.
Ms Agbroko Listed the following as factors fuelling mental sickness:
- Parental negligence.
- Poverty.
- Multiple substance abuse.
- Poor educational systems.
- Unemployment and so on.
This has moved the motion, for us to be more proactive than reactive to mental health challenges. It is best to create an environment that promotes a healthy mental state than always having to proffer solutions to already declining mental states, she said.
Some ways in which we can be proactive, according to her are:
- Educate yourself about mental health.
- Practice self-care.
- Talk with everyone you know: We can all make efforts to look out for each other by paying attention when we have conversations with our families, friends and co-workers. If anyone gives indication that they may be experiencing mental breakdown (depression/anxiety), let them know there are resources available to help them.
- Adopt a healthy lifestyle: exercise, be kind to one another, abstain from substance abuse, avoid conflict, and eat healthy.
- Meditate.
- Allow people express their emotions without fear of judgement/being shamed.
- Believe people when they share their mental health struggles.
- Struggle to make liveable wages.
- Community-care and co-regulation.
Many people who have mental health challenges fail to receive treatment due to fear of stigmatization from the society, she said, and added that the situation is a very challenging as most people recovering from mental breakdowns fail to receive quality support and care from loved ones and the society.
Mental health problems do not invalidate individuals from being part of society as they were, prior to the onset of their illness. It is of great benefit, to embrace mental health patients and help them through their recovery processes, as we will not only be influencing full recoveries for them, but also showing other sufferers of the ailment who have not sought care, that there is hope and support for them.
Ms Victory Agbroko hopes that with the incipient proactive efforts towards mental health, reprieve will be available to people with the challenge.