Posted on: Fri 11-09-2020

Mental illness is a different kind of experience compared to other types of sickness that human beings have been exposed to. The cause, manifestations and subsequently the management have been shrouded in mystery over the ages. The nature of the cause was the fundamental dilemma of an illness that could alter the normal functioning of the mind.

This is definitely different from other infirmities where we can identify the offending agent or explain the malfunctioning of an organ or the existence of a growth causing discomfort. The immediate explanation was to ascribe to the supernatural theory predominant at the time. The quest to discover effective treatment of mental illness led to the adoption of inhuman methods such as bleeding, purging and beating since evil spirits were believed to inhabit the blood, body fluids and the body of their victims. Unfortunately, the African culture which is responsible for our contemporary religious experiences has remained fixated at this point despite empirical evidence that these earlier postulated theories are wrong.

The discovery of the medical mode of treatment that melted delusions and knocked out hearing of voices in clear consciousness remains one of the greatest discoveries of our time. The mind of a man is essentially the currency of his world. A man can still achieve prodigies despite the loss of some organs of the body but not the mind which is the essence of our human existence. The science of behavior has grown over the years with clearer understanding of the causes and effective treatment of abnormal behavior. We have seen that the mind and the brain are two sides of the same coin; the brain as a complex organ in the body endowed with sophisticated functions that are more complex than the structural functions of movement, speech execution, turning the head and others.

There are millions of yet to be identified circuits in the brain that subserves a lot of our intellectual and emotional functions of the mind. Using electrodes to stimulate certain regions of the brain elaborates certain specific sophisticated psychic manifestations depending on the region of the brain.

Beyond the brain, the mind of man is precariously linked to his environment which can profoundly affect his behavior and manipulates brain functions with demonstrable psychological manifestations. We cannot bury our heads alone in the biological underpinnings of abnormal behavior as we rise to the challenge of the power of environment in shaping human behavior.

Poverty is particularly important as an environmental determinant of mental health in Africa for two reasons according to a World Health Organisation document. First, poverty is widespread and the African region has some of the highest levels of absolute poverty in the world. Second, there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates an association between poverty and mental ill health. In developing countries, research into the relationship between mental health and poverty is in its infancy.

However, several studies have demonstrated an association between indicators of poverty and mental disorders, in which mental ill health was robustly associated with indicators such as experiences of insecurity and hopelessness, rapid social change and risk of violence and physical ill health. The researchers proposed that the relationship between poverty and mental ill health was interactive. Specifically, they provided evidence from five studies in low and middle income countries in support of a relationship between low levels of education, low income and common mental disorders.

The poor may be vulnerable to mental ill health through mechanisms such as social marginalisation, high intensity stressors, and reduced access to social capital, social drift, malnutrition and obstetric risks. Conversely, mental ill health may result in poverty through increased out-of-pocket health expenditure, loss of employment and reduced productivity.

Mental health is the product of a number of determinants which may have their origins beyond the formally designated health sector. Hence, there is the need for a multi-sectorial approach to both policy development and implementation. Our federal ministry  of health and respective state ministries of health need to take the lead in developing multi-sectorial approaches,  develop appropriate tools and  relationship-models  for working with local government health systems, non-governmental organisations , corporate bodies   and religious organisations.

There is the need to include the alternative practitioners in a scheme that synergises  their  practice  with the orthodox model  just as other aspects  of life of the people  like housing, employment, safe  environment are given strong consideration. Unchecked assault on the mental health of the citizenry  is like sitting on a keg of  gunpowder waiting to explode but the government and all stakeholders can take proactive multi-sectorial steps now.

Source: Punch

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