COVID-19: How to tackle mental health challenges among Nigerian youth – Experts

Experts have said there is a need for increased efforts towards tackling mental health challenges among young people particularly depression amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. They made the call during a global mental health awareness programme on the social audio app – Clubhouse – to mark this year’s World Mental Day.  Over 10 […]

Experts have said there is a need for increased efforts towards tackling mental health challenges among young people particularly depression amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

They made the call during a global mental health awareness programme on the social audio app – Clubhouse – to mark this year’s World Mental Day. 

Over 10 countries across the world hosted specific schedules during the 24-hour event to raise awareness around this year’s theme, ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.

Speaking on the “State of depression and mental health among young people in Nigeria”, the Nigerian experts said the COVID-19 pandemic worsened mental health issues for the youth.

They said mental health was not integrated into the pandemic response, and that actions taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 did not factor in mental health considerations.

According to Dr. Maymunah Kadiri, a neuropsychiatrist and mental health advocate, research has shown that one in five children and adolescent Nigerians have mental health disorders.

She said schools and homes in the country are filled with kids that are dealing with some form of mental illness.

“The advent of COVID-19 has made this exponential because children became exposed to hostile environments and toxic relationships as people were forced to stay home,” she said.

Victor Ugo, founder of Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI), said young Nigerians were continuously being exposed to risk factors that predispose them to mental health problems.

He said many of them are despondent due to a lack of investment in mental health services as well as the non-existent programmes targeted at the promotion and prevention of mental health problems like depression, anxiety and substance use and abuse disorders.

SheiFunmi Yusuf, founder and executive director at Love, Peace & Mental Health Foundation (LPM), said there are high expectations on young Nigerians, adding that a large number of young people living with depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions were afraid to seek help because of shame or how society will perceive them.

She said young people and the Nigerian public need to be educated about mental health because many people suffer in silence as a result of not having a better understanding of their emotions, feelings and experiences in their minds and body.

To address depression in young people, Hauwa Ojeifo, founder and executive director of She Writes Woman, said there is a need to evaluate childhood experiences.

She said, “These are experiences that predispose children to certain life stresses that affect their childhoods, and they include neglect, abuses, war, natural or man-made disasters, alcohol abuse and similar issues.”

She added that stresses that people deal with are usually deep-rooted from childhood and mental health problems are fully formed by the age of 14.

Motunrayo Ayo-Akwe a, Marketing Communication expert and founder of The Relief Team said the youth need to be intentional with their time, take time off social media and go to therapy because people may not realise how bad they are doing.

She said this is because many Nigerian youths wear different hats; they work normal jobs and are entrepreneurs at the same time which brings in added mental stress and depression.

Also speaking on mental health challenges among people living with disabilities, Adenike Oyetunde, Founder of Amputees United Initiative and the Gratitude Hub, said that multiple studies have found that adults with disabilities report experiencing more mental distress than those without disabilities.

While saying there is a lot of stigma that comes with living with a disability, she said this includes uncomfortable stares from people that have an impact on your mental health.

She said it is important to be part of a community with people that have the same experiences in order to get the needed support to overcome the challenges.