Browsing: mental health

Depression is not a colour. It comes in different forms, stages, time, places, and it doesn’t care who you are, what you are, where you are from, or how old you are. It affects adults as well as teenagers in unexpected ways.

Mental awareness simply entails bringing to public notice as well as educating the masses about mental illnesses.

They have been shamed for their lack of achievements, their struggling careers, and the likes. Individuals from the comforts of their homes, throw hurtful words around and trigger depressive tendencies. The worst is when these persons speak up about things that plague them or about the voices in their heads, you begin to hear things like, “no be only you suffer pass”, “the suffering na everywhere” or “if you see wetin other people dey go through, you go know say your own better pass”.

Mental illnesses are not uncommon in Nigeria; the cases of suicides reported over time shows the degree of occurrence in our society. Nigeria, a society with many cultural beliefs have misconception and misbeliefs about mental illness

About three weeks ago, I saw a really good-looking young man. From where I sat in the moving bus, he looked well and happy. He was walking down the road like someone who needed to be somewhere and the briefcase he was carrying looked cool. With just one look at him, you may not tell that there was something off about him. But my curiosity, or is it lust, did not allow me to take off my eyes.

This is a welcomed move because it will see more and more people taking charge of their lives in a positive way. It will also reduce the number of people who suffer in silence and won’t seek help because they feel it is a taboo or a show of weakness.

The notion that social media has a negative impact on mental well-being is widespread. There are talks that the reason for the unproductivity of young people is their increased use of social media. What we forget is that as the days go by, trends change; and everyone who does not change with, either ‘dies’ or becomes ‘extinct’. As a matter of fact, to be off social media these days is to commit a career or business suicide.

When I came to, Strange Boy was talking to one mai magani bera – an otapiapia vendor. The vendor didn’t have sniper, so the boy settled for traditional rat poison commonly known as otapiapia. He picked up his wheelbarrow, dumped his shovel in it and bid me farewell.