Psychologist Reveals One Major Cause Of Mental Health Issues
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A clinical psychologist, Samuel Jinadu has revealed one major cause of mental health issues.
Jinadu said during a chat with PUNCH HealthWise Correspondent that a person grieving also encounters mental health problems.
He urged Nigerians to provide mental support to bereaved people. According to him, those who have lost a close relative are prone to mental problems.
Jinadu stated that it is wrong to attribute mental health issues in bereaved persons to witch-hunting by the dead. He explained that what such persons need is proper mental health support from experts.
He said:
“An average Nigerian term mental health issues like depression, anxiety, psychosis, bipolar as spiritual problems.
“So if now you talk about grief, they’d probably say that the spirit of the person that has died has done this and that.
“They give different spiritual interpretations to experiences that people pass through when they are grieving, especially if they have a problem.
“They would probably say that the person has done something bad to the dead person and the spirit is haunting him.
“You know, different experiences, different explanations and it doesn’t help the individual to get closure. It doesn’t help the individual to grieve properly and come out of it. For us in this country, we still have that challenge of spiritualising mental health.”
The mental health expert advised the relatives of such persons to seek the help of a mental health expert. According to him, ignoring such a person could lead to more severe mental instability.
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Jinadu, who is also the head of the psychology unit at Karu General Hospital, said that grief cam affect:
- A person’s ability to recover.
- Bounce back to life.
- Productivity level.
- Their interpersonal relationship.
He noted that if the bereaved is no longer able to function appropriately, psychological intervention should be sought
He described the grief of someone who lost a loved one to death as complicated grief.
He further explained that such people could be at risk of developing severe mental health crises.
Jinadu said:
“For some people, it could be substance use disorder because they are grieving so they take alcohol or take other psychoactive substances to numb their experiences which is a major risk factor for other mental health disorders.”
Jinadu further advised that persons grieving should not be rushed through the stages of grief. These stages include:
- denial.
- Anger.
- Bargaining.
- Depression.
- Acceptance.
- Finding meaning.
He said that a person might be stuck in any of the six stages of grief. However, that doesn’t mean they may need the assistance of a specialist if they can fully function.
Jinadu continued: “Professionally we don’t encourage rushing an individual to move from one stage to the other because everyone has different capacities to process and deal with each stage differently.”
“If an individual is prolonged in a particular stage and it is not affecting their ability to be productive, function or their interpersonal relationship with other people you can’t really say that person has a disorder.
“The person is just stuck at a particular stage and not able to move on but he is functioning and every other thing is ok.
“The person perhaps is dealing with a particular experience, they would need support but not to the level compared to an individual who is unable to function.”
Source: PUNCH HealthWise