ABUJA – A consultant psychiatrist, Dr Olusola Oluwanuga, has advised against stigmatising persons with mental illness as a way of checking the rising cases of mental health issues in the country.
Oluwanuga, a staff of the National Hospital, Abuja, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.
She said putting an end to stigmatisation would help reduce more than 50 per cent of mental health disorders, especially the ones associated with schizophrenia.
The consultant added that concern and care for persons suffering from mental disorders would encourage more people come out in search for care.
“Treatment of mental illness has so much progressed in Nigeria, but most people with the illness do not want to go out and receive treatment due to stigmatisation.
“No body needs to be wandering around the streets anymore because treatment has progressed, and is available and accessible in hospitals including public and private,’’ Oluwanuga said.
According to her, most people don’t go out in search of treatment because of stigmatisation; they do not want to associate themselves with the illness.
The consultant, however, corrected the notion that every person seen on the street suffers from mental disorder.
She said there were a lot of homeless and disabled people without support who are living on the streets and are wrongly regarded as mad people. [eap_ad_2] According to Oluwanuga, what people see today on the streets is known as chronic untreated schizophrenia.
Oluwanuga also advised Nigerians to desist from the habit of taking persons with mental issues to prayer homes, churches or sent to places where they would not be able to access proper health care.
She described schizophrenia as a mental disorder often characterised by abnormal social behaviour and failure to recognise what is real.
According to her, common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and inactivity.
She said most diagnosis of the ailment is based on observed behaviour and the person’s reported experiences.
She identified some of the efforts put in place by government to reverse the trend to include the `National Mental Health Policy’.
The consultant said the bill when passed would help those with mental health issues access better health care.
She added that the bill before the National Assembly on mental illness would help to safeguard the rights of people with mental disorder.
However, Oluwanuga appealed to government and other stakeholders in the health sector to help fight stigmatization against persons with mental disorder.
NAN also reports that “Living with Schizophrenia’’ is the theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]
