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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Rotary Club, Anthony Golden, Lagos, has taken mental its health campaign to Mende community, Kosofe Local Government, while carrying out projects, which focused on preventing diseases and supporting maternal and child health.
Members gathered at Fish Farm, Ogudu, Lagos, recently alongside youths and women from Mende to educate, train and sensitize them on the dangers apparent to mental health illness.
Mental health consultant and regional vice president, World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), and immediate past president, Rotary Club, Iponrin, Toluse Francis, presented a paper on mental health.
Francis said mental health was an area neglected by many people for too long because of the stigma associated with it: “The involvement of Rotary clubs will gradually reduce the stigma, and more and more people will begin to be comfortable around the issue.”
He raised the alarm on the various mental health struggles and disorders that Nigerians face and the need for immediate action to address them once an individual notices some strange character traits.
“More than 264 million people worldwide are affected by depression, according to the World Health Organization, and although many mental health conditions can be effectively treated at relatively low cost, many people who need treatment do not receive it.”
He added that mental health includes emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how people think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how they handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices.
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“Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well, work well and contribute to their community.
“It 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.”
Francis called on various mental health service providers and NGOs involved with mental wellness to garner more strategies in order to sensitize persons, especially those at the edge of falling into depression.
Francis, who spoke on “Anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder,” said: “When you notice a strange behaviour pattern or your thinking is quite different from the way you reason normally, have someone to speak to as a temporary therapy to calm the situation.
“Everyone has mental health but not everyone has the illness, if there’s abnormal behaviour, then you should see a mental health practitioner.”
The project service chairperson, George Nwibo, said their aim is to create an environment where individuals feel safe and supported where they can openly discuss their struggles, and where “seeking help is seen as a sign of strength, not weakness.”
Nwibo added that Rotary has a remarkable record when it comes to health initiatives: “We’ve helped bring polio to the brink of eradication, and clubs have carried out myriad projects focused on preventing disease and supporting maternal and child health.
“Now the global pandemic has brought attention to another aspect of health that is often overlooked: mental health.”
