MENTAL HEALTH SPEECH FROM THE FOUNDER AND LEAD PSYCHOLOGIST MISS AISHA BUBAH FOR THE TOLL FREE MENTAL HEALTH HELPLINE.
Written by Aisha Bubah, Founder and Lead Psychologist at
When I feel any signs of physical discomfort like headache, stomach ache, or something similar, I know immediately how to react by seeking medical help. Similarly, when you feel any signs of mental distress like pangs of anxiety, depression, or something similar, we want you to react the same way (seek psychological support). That is the destination TSS wants to take Nigerians. To a stage where telling your boss that you have a therapy session to attend becomes as easy as saying I have a dental checkup. To a point where we are easily able to spot signs of mental distress in our near and loved ones and be able to quickly make recommendations and provide support towards seeking help, without feeling the need to stigmatize, shame, or silence the person. And all these and more is doable. Your mental health is a part of your being as a person. Access to good mental healthcare is your fundamental human right as a person.
Mental health has suffered severe underfunding globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, the world economy loses upto 1 trillion USD in productivity due to common mental disorders like depression and anxiety. By 2030, it is estimated that the world could lose upto 16 trillion USD as a result of mental health crisis. Suicide is among the leading causes of death especially among teens. Every 40 seconds, a person dies by suicide. Drug abuse has become very rampant in our society, cutting across all genders and age ranges. Mental health care is a necessity. It is the bane of building a healthy, prosperous and happy society. An estimated 20–30% Nigerians are believed to suffer from mental disorders with WHO estimating that less than 10% have access to treatment. There is an estimated number of around 200 Psychiatrists to the over 200 million Nigerian population, with a low figure of other mental health workers like psychologists, social workers, lay counsellors. This makes it hard for Nigeria to meet demands if we had everyone seeking access to mental healthcare.
In the 1960s when Sweden had a suicide crisis, the Govt stepped in to create social welfare and good mental health support system to curb it. Today, we are witnessing an intervention where the Govt of Nigeria is not only managing the physical aspects of the COVID19 pandemic but also looking at the mental health impact.
The Sunshine Series is a youth-led organization that is determined to make Nigeria mental health friendly. We have spanned our work to cut across various sectors including schools, corporate organizations, refugee camps, underserved communities and more. In the past year, we have been able to reach over 200 persons with counselling services, trained over 300 persons on mental health, trained lay counsellors and psychological first aiders. We have collaborated with various organizations like the US embassy in Abuja to host a webinar on the impact of COVID19 on mental health. We have offered employee assistance programmes to organizations towards securing employee wellbeing, enhancing productivity and achieving a healthy work-life balance. We have worked with IDPs to enhance their mental health and build their resilience. We are currently running a research to understand the impact of COVID19 on the mental health of Nigerians, to guide designing evidence-based approaches to curbing the mental health crisis brought about by the pandemic. We are currently running a fundraiser for a project called She For Love which is aimed at providing extensive therapy for women and girls who have been victims of gender-based violence like domestic violence and sexual violence.
We started The Mind Wheel project during the 1st lockdown, by forming a team of selfless volunteers and offering free counseling sessions to Nigerians struggling with their mental health as a result of the impact of the pandemic, and persons living with mental health conditions who were unable to access mental health services due to restrictions from the lockdown. We met with the Federal Ministry of SDIA and presented the need for mental health support for Nigerians. Through the support of the Ministry of SDIA, we got the opportunity to expand the mind wheel project and pilot a toll-free mental health helpline in the FCT on the 112 national emergency line, with the support of the Ministry of communications and digital economy. This is a remarkable feat for Nigeria, at a point where the world is grappling with the impact of a global pandemic.
This gives a lot of hope that our dear country is taking certain steps towards the right direction in matching certain global standards. Mental health is not a conversation only for our clinics, it cuts across all sectors. Today, if like to make a call to all of us present and watching to normalize discussing your mental health in all circles. This is the only way we can eradicate the stigma and begin to seek the support that we deserve.
