MENTAL HEALTH (A CHAT)
Mental health has been an unconscious but important part of our day to day activities as humans. Especially in this part of the world where we live in and engage in so many activities that come with different stressors that could lead to a lot of mental imbalances.
I decided to have a chat with my friend, Chinwe, who studies psychology, so as to help me know better about what is happening in the mentioned health world, and below is a detailed break down of our discussion;
Me: Hi Chinwe, What do you understand about mental health?
Chinwe: When one hears the phrase “mental health”, it is most convenient for them to think about things relating to “mental disorder”. This isn’t surprising because mental health challenges are by far one of the most popular aspects of mental health. Allow me to explain in detail, this commonly used phrase.
“Mental” refers to an individual’s cognitive, emotional, behavioural and psychological being, while “health” is simply being of satisfactory wellbeing or existing in good condition. Bringing these two definitions together we’ll define mental health as the level of an individual’s cognitive, emotional, behavioural and psychological well-being.
Our mental health is a great determining factor in several life activities like our cognitive processes (perception, remembering and forgetting, sensation, learning, language and thought) and our reaction to a stimulus (behaviour).
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Me: Is the word “mental” exclusively for mad people? If yes/no, why?
Chinwe: Absolutely not! Mental can be used as a noun and an adjective. In this question, I sense you’re asking about the usage of mental in its adjectival form.
As a noun; Referencing my definition of mental health, I referred to ‘mental’ as being an individual’s psyche which includes his/her cognitive, emotional, behavioural and psychological existence.
While as an adjective; it refers to one who is dealing with a mental health challenge.
I further broke down “mental” into two different literary states just so that it is easier understood that the word is multifunctional. I strongly advise that you refrain from using the adjectival form of mental, especially when dealing with people experiencing or who have experienced any form of mental health challenge.
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Me: Is it bad to talk to others about your problems?
Chinwe: No, it is advised that you talk to a professional or a trusted person about what you’re going through.
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Me: Is it a normal thing to see a psychologist?
Chinwe: It should be. Unfortunately, here in Nigeria, we believe that therapy is a ‘white man’s thing’ and we underestimate the power of psychotherapy in this part of the world.
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Me: When should one see a psychologist?
Chinwe: The moment you start to feel overwhelmed by anything, anything at all, please seek professional help.
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Me: How do you know if a person is depressed or wants to commit suicide?
Chinwe: You will notice a patterned and prolonged feeling of sadness, loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, changes in appetite, changes in sleep pattern or schedule, unintentional weight loss or weight gain, persistent low mood, sudden and prolonged hyperactivity, sudden and consistent fatigue, feelings of guilt and shame, sudden low self-confidence, reoccurring suicidal thoughts, suicidal tweets and social media posts from the person, suicidal attempts.
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Me: Do you think one’s environment can affect his/her mental health?
Chinwe: Yes, greatly. In psychology, I believe this falls under the ‘viewing human behaviour from a socio-cultural approach’, which is of the opinion that the role of one’s culture, ethnic identity and other socio-cultural factors are in full play in understanding human behaviour (encompasses mental health).
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Me: Is it bad to talk to someone else?
Chinwe: No. It is encouraged that when facing overwhelming situations, you open up to trusted persons.
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Me: Do you term not being mentally healthy as a sickness?
Chinwe: It is advised not to use words like ‘sickness, illness, disorder, issues’ when referring to people who are experiencing or have experienced mental health challenges as those words may pass off as being discriminatory, stigmatizing and may scare them from getting professional care.
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Me: In few words tell us the need for mental health awareness
Chinwe: The need for mental health awareness can not be overemphasized. I come from a country where a vast number of people believe that mental health challenges are ‘white people diseases.’ They ignore signs of their deteriorating mental health many a time and even go as far as calling you a softie for seeking professional assistance.
With this deteriorative mindset here, we can see that there is a growing urgency to help them understand themselves better and see that psychotherapy is not for only ‘mad’ people.
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in every four Nigerians (about 50 million Nigerians) are dealing with some sort of mental health challenge.
Imagine having this staggering statistic as a nation of about 200 million people, which means that 1/4th of Nigeria’s population is dealing with a mental health challenge or another.
From this demographic, there will be those who are not even aware that they have certain challenges and then several others who know but aren’t willing to seek professional attention because of the stigma attached to psychotherapy.
It is with this lens, that we are to see our audience, that we are to create a safe and secure and educative space for them to better understand their cognitive, psychological, emotional, behavioural and even social well being.
And that is it from today’s digest, I hope that it educates and enlightens you about the things you need to know about Mental Health. Be free to connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter, cheers!
You can go check out chinwe’s blog, she writes intriguing and amazing contents on mental health and social consciousness.
