By Dr Olayinka Olatunde Ayinde
Dear
Pastor Adeyemi,
With
due respect sir, your public assertion that mental health problems are caused
by supernatural forces is completely false and misleading to the public as well
as those who respect you and take your public utterances to heart.
Sir, I suggest you seek the help of mental
health practitioners for advice and guidance before speaking publicly about
mental health issues so that you do not cause great public harm.
As of the moment I type these words, we have
zero evidence that witches and wizards or evil spirits cause mental illness.
Accumulated
research over hundreds of years which have consumed billions of man-hours tells
us that mental illnesses are caused by biological, psychological and social
factors that often interact in a complex manner.
It is the effects of these factors on the
brain, which is the centre of mental functions that lead to mental illness.
The biological factors include inherited
conditions from our parents' genes, maternal infections from the womb, maternal
consumption of unprescribed drugs and illicit drugs, infections in childhood
that are untreated or poorly treated, dangerous drug use and so on.
Psychological causes include child abuse,
sexual abuse, domestic violence, bullying and so on. Social conditions that can
contribute to mental illness causation include poverty and unemployment.
Treatments that have been developed according to this model of disease causation
have been hugely successful, telling us further that the model is sound.
When uninformed persons attribute mental
illnesses to supernatural causes, not only are they misleading the public, they
are also inducing unnecessary fear in the public leading to stigmatisation and
maltreatment of the mentally ill.
Up
to 80% percent of Nigerians with diagnosable mental illnesses do not seek
treatment for them. One of the main reasons for this derives directly from
statements like yours.
Your statement prevents mentally ill persons
from seeking help; it makes them feel ashamed and takes away their dignity. It
predisposes them to human right abuse by equally uninformed members of the
public.
It
makes them seek help at the wrong places and delays the start of efficacious
and effective Orthodox treatment thereby worsening their long term clinical and
social outcomes.
Pastor
Adeyemi, your church and
other churches can help mental health practitioners and the clients they see by
referring to proper hospitals, persons with abnormalities in thought,
perception, emotion and behaviour that cause them and their families distress,
as well as prevent them from functioning optimally at home, work and society.
Also, your church and other churches can help
by providing financial and social support to those who suffer from mental
illnesses.
You can create a mental health fund from your
resources for the hospital care of the mentally ill.
Humane treatment and respect for the dignity
of all, including the mentally ill is something that should be preached from
the pulpit.
Mental illness prevention begins from proper
care of the developing brain from conception, meaning that women should have
adequate care in pregnancy.
The home environment should be conducive for
the growth and development of children and the thriving of women, and
maintenance of loving marital relationships. These can be preached from the
pulpit.
Finally, pastor, mental illnesses are not
rare. 1 in 7 Nigerians will have one in their lifetimes. They also do not respect
persons. They could happen to you or me or those we know.
The overall principle then is this: how do you
or I want to be treated when we have a mental illness?
I shall be glad to hear that you passed this
message to your brethren and the entire faith community.
You have a role to play in the spread of
knowledge, in uplifting mankind and preserving the dignity of all men,
especially those who are ill or weak and those without a voice.
Thank you for your time.
Dr. Ayinde is a psychiatrist based in Ibadan. You can reach him at oayinde@brandeis.edu
Thank you for your time.
Dr. Ayinde is a psychiatrist based in Ibadan. You can reach him at oayinde@brandeis.edu
Source: Saharareporters
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