OFTENtimes when mental disorder is mentioned in Nigeria, what comes to mind is the picture of insane men and women with particular ranges of behaviour that are not typical of a sane person.
They believe that the naked and dirty person on the street who picks up discarded things and talks periodically to himself is the ideal person with mental disorder. But such a category is just a small part of mental disorder even though it could be referred to as the extreme case of the health condition.
Other forms of mental disorder are depression, anxiety, drug addiction, eating disorder e.t.c. Several indications show that over 60 million Nigerians have one form of mental disorder or the other, with only 20 per cent of people in such category seen to have the obvious form of it.
This includes what the ordinary Nigerian refers to as madness or extreme case of drug or alcohol addiction, a reason that has largely made mental disorder among Nigerians to be ignored or poorly understood.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that “Nigeria is the most depressed country in Africa.”
In Nigeria, awareness and knowledge of mental disorder are extremely low, making it difficult for people to access adequate medical attention. Depression is the leading cause of disability globally. It is as well the leading cause of suicide deaths in the world.
It is not just a feeling of sadness but a real illness which affects the brain; it is a serious health condition that requires proper treatment and counselling. When understood by the society and spotted in time, patients can timely seek help before it reaches the extreme consequences.
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