How’s Nigeria’s Mental Health?

Why aren’t we talking about mental health?

Our society is big on hypocrisy, there’s so many things we do not talk about that there’s almost a culture of shame around them. There’s so many of them that range from things like sex (education), divorce, LGBTQ, poverty and alas the mental health stigmatization in Nigeria.

And how do we not have enough certified professionals trained in mental health care in Nigeria?

We have a physician to patient ratio of every one doctor to 4,000 patients. There aren’t enough professionals trained in mental health care in Nigeria. Statistics show that 1 in 4 Nigerians suffer from a mental illness. That’s 40 million Nigerians suffering and worse we are suffering in silence.

In Nigeria, there’s usually a stigma attached to speaking out about your mental wellbeing and worse still, there’s usually an annoying superstitious belief tied to how you feel when you speak out.

The majority of Nigerians, especially the older generation feel it’s a “village people” syndrome, or intake of hard drugs. While yes, it is true on the former but not on the village people syndrome and that is why we need to educate ourselves better on mental health care.

And this hasn’t been helped by young people on social media who pose with the mental illness stigma/insignia with the intent of clout chasing. This has alienated those with the real stigma/mental illness to refrain from seeking professional help.

And the media, with all its might has failed to do more to enlighten the public on mental illness as well as mental healthcare. It has rather reinforced these ridiculous superstitious beliefs centered around mental illnesses through its mediums notably Nollywood.

It’s heartbreaking to see a lot of Nigerian citizens struggle clandestinely with mental illness without the needed support from their family members (who probably don’t even understand the horrific nature of mental illness and mostly blame the cause on superstition) and the appropriate mental health care professionals

What do we need to do about it

Nigeria is a tough country and coping with mental illness accompanied with depression is a diffcult tax and most times the consequences are always the easier alternative, suicide

With all being said there needs to be radical nationwide sensitization in mental health care, the government needs to prioritize mental health care education and possibly provide tuition grants and subsidies for aspiring mental health care professionals.

The people on the other hand need to be properly educated on the nature of mental illness to mitigate the stigma and encourage support.