Devastating psychological effects in our society

I write these opinions which have been drawn from observing people, life and myself. Some are ideas that I have mulled over for many years, and share now. My long standing ideas have been brought to the fore because of the recent outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria. 

Apart from the obvious devastating effects of the Ebola virus on humankind, I wonder if there is an unseen upsurge in anxiety issues expressed in OCD ( Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This may become a problem for these individuals in the long term. Everything we must do to protect ourselves and contain this deadly virus may corroborate existing deep rooted feelings of anxiety. Perhaps we may have to look at strategies to provide psychological support especially, for people dealing with this sometimes debilitating mental health state.

As I watched the news and read about the Ebola virus and it's deadly effects, I also thought about emotional and psychological traumas that may be up scaled as well. I think this not  just to the families of victims, but the fact that a psyche of fear on new levels has been unleashed into our society. Shouldn't we look at psychological support in our communities in the same way flu shots are recommended in certain seasons , and also anti histamines in hay fever season. In Nigeria, we already live with daily uncertainty with sporadic power and water supply, Boko Haram bombings, kidnaping and related crimes, armed robbery, stress inducing traffic congestion, corruption and inequity. The upshot of this list of pressures is that people react in various ways to protect themselves, and to bring comforting solutions to the deep rooted feelings of fear that this high octane environment generates. 

The attendant 'unseen' mental health issues can become compounded because they are not acknowledged, and therefore not recognised. It is particularly difficult to unearth the root cause of these stresses and traumas in Nigerian Christiandom, because we have popular 'Christianese' parlance that masks what is happening. While I am a big advocate of ' faking it until you make it' , I still think there should be room for the mental space required to take a hard look at how people are feeling and acknowledging what is actually going on. A friend who was suffering from a blinding migraine declared ' ori'nfo ota mi' which literally means ' my enemy has a headache' in Yoruba . Similar 'Naija Christianese'  brought about a bizzare situation in which a subordinate calls and says ' sorry I won't be at work today because I am strong'. What would be wrong with saying ' I am down with malaria and I am believing God for healing, I am on malaria therapy, and I pray that it works as it is designed to'. What would be wrong with that?

There is so much stigma attached to the idea of mental health problems in our culture, and this stigmatisation further compounds whatever problems an individual may have. When anyone declares they want to get married, the traditional thing is to ' go and find out about the family' , which is a euphemism for 'check if there is madness in the family'. The truth is, every family has someone who has one mental health challenge or other, the question is; to what degree.
There is almost no other ailment affecting mankind that is rampantly left untreated like mental illness.
I often think of mental health issues as a haemorrhaging of a healthy human being. If any individual was heamouraging from a wound, the natural reaction would be to rush them to get treatment and stop the bleeding. There would be no negative attention attached to that. However, mental illness is not treated with the same seriousness or immediacy. It is a serious issue in which the individual's essence is actually being eroded until they are incapacitated by the parts of themselves that have now become distorted, just like one would be incapacitated with reduced blood content from a haemorrhaging wound. The remnant person with untreated mental illness is a shadow of what they could be, and inter connections and bonds with others may become strained or difficult, or even cut off. To me, a psychological trauma can be a transient episode or event which can lead to mental illness if not addressed appropriately.

Everyone has experienced a cold or a cough, or some other common ailment like a headache at sometime in their lives. We accept that these are part of our lives and take cold remedies, cough mixtures and analgesics accordingly. Unfortunately, the same treatment is not given to mental illness or psychological trauma which ails every individual in some measure at some point in their lives. Some people get help and overcome it, while some others find ways through their belief system for example to combat it, a small percentage seek professional help. Then there are those who do not even know that they have a small touch of mental illness, which may start out mild, but left untreated, could become chronic, and ultimately lead to other problems. Sometimes, there is no obvious ill effect of this challenge, but I wager something is lying dormant in the deepest recesses of the mind. There are so many walking wounded! The results of hidden psychological traumas are thus played out in behaviours in which people 'act up' or display attitudes that profoundly upset others, especially their nearest and dearest. People carry on suffering in silence, and a litany of broken relationships, dreams and aspirations result.
Perhaps someone will develop a mental health check app, just like a blood pressure check device.

For me, my medicine against anxiety has been a combination of ;
-Recognition of my own attitudes
-Recognition of triggers
-Support from family and friends
-Dependence on the word of God.

In fact, I believe my support network have been enabled by God himself to deliver aspects of healing exactly as I need them. God works through people and circumstances around us to deliver His heart to His children. The bible is replete with phrases with words like 'do not be afraid' and ' do not be anxious' . I researched this and there are various claims about the number of times these phrases and related ones occur. There is a popular message making its rounds in social media which says 365 times; as in one for each day of the year. There are all sorts of statements which just point to the fact that it is a repeated theme.

  The important thing to note is that our creator knew how his creation would respond to life's pressures, and how those trigger inherent behaviours He himself sent us to this earth carrying. I have come to realise that the potent mix of life's pressures and my inherent attitudes and behaviours are meant to create a hunger to depend on God. It is a constant battle to keep coming back to the Father for strength, comfort, for healing, to be taught, or rebuked, and ultimately to calm my spirit down and embrace whatever directions He will have me obey. I believe emotions are God given , not just for self expression, but as a warning system for mental health. 

So my prayer today is for everyone suffering whether mildly, or acutely from anxiety or depression or mental health challenges triggered by fear of any kind. That they will first of all acknowledge that all is not well, that they will recognise their triggers, that they will become so self aware that their underlying psychological attitudes are revealed. I pray that if need be, they will immediately get professional help. I pray Romans 12:2 becomes a living reality. 
I also pray for those who have sudden traumatic events thrust on them, like those in war torn areas and recently , the families of Ebola victims. I pray for grace to endure this very difficult time. 
Amen