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Job Osazuwa
Mental illnesses have become very common. Many people have had one or know someone who has.
In fact, it is said that one-fourth of Nigeria’s population is suffering from one form of mental illness or the other. Unfortunately, many of the patients and their relatives have been living in denial for fear of rejection by society.
How these sets of people are treated in society has become a topical issue among not just stakeholders in the health sector but all concerned Nigerians. The patients, even after recovery, are treated with scorn by the rest of society.
Recently, psychiatrists, psychologists and other experts in the management of people suffering from mental illnesses once again expressed concern over the stigmatisation of patients. They called for a re-orientation on how the patients are often treated.
The experts hilighted the position that mental ailment is like every other disease that needs to be tackled with care and medication, as recommended by physicians.
They believe that the manner that people with mental health challenges are perceived in society makes it difficult for the patients to seek help on time. The medics warned that such delays usually lead to severe complications that could pose a lifelong risk for the patient.
During a mental health talk programme on a national television monitored by the reporter, a consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Dayyabah Shaibu, said there were different factors responsible for people behaving in abnormal ways. She said some people were suffering from schizophrenia, which makes them hear voices that no one else hears.
“It is not that the person is pretending; this is delusion. You can’t convince these patients that they don’t hear these voices. And there are diagnoses to confirm these symptoms. The patients actually hear the voices and go ahead to obey them, even to commit crime. They feel that they are acting to protect themselves. Some of them commit crime but with a feeling that they are not the ones carrying out the act. This is different from being anti-social as we have it in some people.
“With thorough diagnosis, medication and care, those voices may go away. In mental health, we don’t have an X-ray, CT scan or ultrasound; we call it the soft medicine. We explore the mind of the patient. Then you find out that the situation they find themselves in is beyond their control. We should not stigmatise them because, in most cases, it is not their fault,” she said.
Shaibu also added that some persons could get used to porn and alcohol, but it becomes addiction when it begins to affect the individual’s routine activities like schooling, as well as relationships with other people.
The consultant, a mental health advocate, said there was a genetic component in mental illness. She, however, noted that mental stability could be affected by many other things, besides genetics. She summarised by saying that they are caused by biological, psychological and social factors.
“If you have a parent or sibling who has a mental illness, it increases your chances of having a mental illness. But it is not automatic. In some persons, it could be as a result of losing a loved one, a job, marriage, divorce, trauma from rape and abuse,” she said.
Also contributing to the discourse, a psychiatrist, Dr. Nwife Akhator-Eneka, described mental health as a state of well-being where people are able to recognise their potential as well as their ability to cope with day-to-day stressors, work productively and contribute to society.
On the other hand, she explained mental illnesses as being characterised by abnormalities in emotions, thoughts and actions. These, she said, affect how the person relates with other people and his or her surroundings.
While kicking against stigmatisation, she said not everyone that is seen still going about his or her normal daily activities was 100 per cent mentally okay. She enlightened the public that the above scenario was just one part of the spectrum while others could be seen on the streets, picking garbage.
She stressed that if Nigerians don’t address the stigmatisation and overcome it, its consequences are grave. She said it was sad when people suspect mental illness in a family member but quickly rebuke it and say ‘it is not our portion.’
Akhator-Eneka said that before anyone could conclude to commit suicide, the fellow was already tired and felt abandoned. She said the person must have been behaving contrary to the norm of the society; keeping to his or herself and exhibiting lack of interest in things that hitherto gave him or her joy.
“Most times, people don’t just do anything and lock it up because of stigma. It is this stigma that is limiting access to health care. We need to speak more against stigma because it has disrupted a lot of things and sent people to untimely graves,” she said.
She lamented that people with fractures, for instance, easily attract empathy followed by kind words, which she said was usually missing in the case of persons suffering from mental illness. She said people could complain to their relatives or colleagues about their low moral and loss of interest in their daily routine but the people wouldn’t take it serious.
“The way we present mental health in Nigeria is a big problem and worrisome. We often hear comedians joking about mental illness. People make silly remarks about people with these sets of patients as if it is their fault to find themselves in such a condition. We need to refrain from this kind of attitude and help the patients in our own ways,” she said.
She explained dementia as a decline in cognitive functioning which mostly occurs in old age. She said that at this point, the person’s higher functioning, judgment, memory and intelligence would gradually be declining.
“You could see a very educated and active person, but at 65 or 70, he finds it difficult to dress properly; feed himself or recognise members of his family. Though there are different types of dementia, they are all linked to memory loss or imbalance.
“We can actually halt this type of decline in memory. Oftentimes, we notice these changes in our loved ones but do nothing about it. It has been proven that exercise and other things that stimulate the membrane can reverse such a medical challenge,” she said.
Also in the course of the programme, a psychologist, Dr Maria S., said that patients who come to her are diagnosed with assessment skills, which is mainly through interaction. She said some symptoms could be mild while others are severe.
She said that the psychiatrists and psychologists work hand in hand to manage the patient. She stated that the patient could visit any of the experts before being referred to the other.
According to her, for mental illness patients to stay and remain in steady recovery, follow-up is key. She said even when the patient must have been through with medication, he or she still needs to periodically visit the doctor. She noted that this is important because the patient could go into a relapse.
On how often people willingly turn in themselves for mental health assessment and treatment, she described it as a thug of war, especially with patients who are suffering from addiction combined with psychosis. She said it is usually difficult at the early stages for the patient and his or her relatives to accept the reality.
Said she: “Some relatives will tell me to just go ahead and talk out the addiction from the patient. But it is not easily done that way. When someone comes and says you will cure my child, but we say it is treatment and not cure. And this is why some parents keep taking their children from one hospital to another in search of cure.”
On if mental illness could be 100 per cent cured, Shaibu said that the practitioners believe in the rule of one-third. She explained that one-third would recover on medication; another one-third would be functioning normally but with medication, while one-third will not bounce back to normal self regardless of the amount of medication.
In mental illness, experts have said that the symptoms could range from mild to severe, just as they can also vary from person to person. But when an expert diagnoses the patient and helps him or her to get treatment, he or she could often lead a normal life again.
They noted that it was normal to have some grief, anger and other emotions when one has a major setback in life, but pointed out that this is clearly different from mental illness.
In some cases, treatment may also include creative therapies, such as art therapy, music therapy, or play therapy, mindfulness and meditation, and brain stimulation therapies.
It was concluded that with early diagnosis and treatment, many people fully recover from their mental illnesses or could manage their symptoms. Although some people become disabled because of a chronic or severe mental illness, many others are able to live full and productive lives. The key is to get help as soon as the symptoms start and to keep up with treatment.
