Mental health awareness month, let’s talk about it

I take mental health seriously. Someone said no wonder my birthday is on the 10th of October, World Mental Health Day. Indeed a coincidence. I take it seriously because nothing is worth messing up my peace. So, doing away with things and situations that try to affect it comes easy for me. You should do the same. Your mental health should also be your priority. Yes, the 10th of October is D-Day, but generally, amongst other reasons, October is mental health awareness month. So, if you keep reading about it on various platforms till the end of October (and even beyond), understand why this is so.

“Studies show that one in every four persons is experiencing one form of mental illness or the other.”

My friend reached out to me the other day. She had sent me a message of the time she would call me, so when her call came in, I picked it up. She told me I wouldn’t believe what just happened. She said her 6-year-old daughter was watching cartoons with her father. She knew her father would indulge her and deliberately ensured to overstay her TV time. She also knew she had her father on her finger tips and would show it off any way she could. My friend said she walked up to her to ask her to go and do her assignment, and her daughter responded, “Mummy, you are disturbing my mental health,” and she walked up to her room. She said her husband got up, raising his hands as if to say, “I am not part of this, and I didn’t hear this,” and walked to the kitchen to get water from the fridge that he knew he did not need at that time. She stood there for some minutes, shocked and not completely understanding what had happened. She wondered at her daughter’s audacity to respond to her in such a manner, but was also proud of her to know she understood the phrase “mental health.” Even though she might not understand it in full, she knew something was done to “bother” her time. “I didn’t even know what mental health was at 6,” she told me. So, I concluded, the younger ones are not left out on this matter; they are aware. Everyone must take it seriously. I mean, the statistics are scary. Do you know that Nigeria is facing a shortage of mental health professionals? With just one for every 1,000,000 people, how can people who are going through this get professional help? Factually, it isn’t something you can immediately identify, so many people don’t take it seriously until you hear someone just gave up on life and took it. You begin to say things like “But she spoke to me yesterday,” “But he was always on social media projecting positivity and giving hope,” and “But he spoke on why we must keep on keeping on and never lose hope,” not knowing they were sharing to encourage others but were all dealing with issues they could not share with anyone.

Read also: It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace

Talk about startling statistics. For instance, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 20 percent of Nigerians, or around 40 million people, are affected by mental illness, and that some of Nigeria’s most prevalent mental illnesses include depression and anxiety disorders. Studies show that one in every four persons is experiencing one form of mental illness or the other. It is also a worrisome matter among the youths, as studies indicate that the prevalence of mental health disorders among adolescents in Nigeria varies between about 10 percent and 37 percent, emphasising mental health disorders as a serious public health matter. Perhaps, that is why former gubernatorial aspirant from Rivers State, co-founder of Sahara Group, and current chairman of the Behavioural Health Institute (BHI), Tonye Cole, created BHI to address this issue. The idea is to help bridge the gap in mental health services by leveraging technology, training, and capacity-building initiatives for the youth.

He recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with his son and a team of other participants to raise funds to provide free therapy and coaching for 1,000 Nigerian youths. Listening to some of his board members speak about this cause and the petrifying statistics really shed light on why we must not take matters on mental health with levity. It means that, if they get the necessary support, more youths will have access to therapy, and as such, lives will be changed for the better. For me, beyond lauding the initiative, and since we were sharing on the importance of protecting our mental health, I asked his wife, Sylvia, a doctor, how she coped having not only her husband but also her only son, at the same time, go up Africa’s tallest peak, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, 5,895 metres (19,340 feet) above sea level, and she said to me, “I also went for therapy.” Everyone needs therapy, doctors included. Fact!

Kemi Ajumobi is Editor, Women’s Hub, BusinessDay.