Sit-At-Home, Insecurity Causing Mental Illness — Prof Igwe

The sit-at-home order, according to Prof. Monday Igwe, Medical Director, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, is one of the triggers of depression and mental illness in Nigeria.

The don told reporters in Enugu on Monday that several psychiatric facilities are seeing a spike in mental disease cases.

Igwe spoke at the 2021 World Mental Health Day observance, which had the topic “Mental health in an uneven world.”

COVID-19 impacts, unemployment, inflation, terrorism, banditry, communal disputes, and kidnapping are among the other triggers indicated by the expert.

According to the professor, the demand for mental health and psychosocial support is expected to skyrocket in the coming months and years.

He stated that mental health programs “are now more necessary than they have ever been.”

Igwe expressed his sadness that mental health is one of the most neglected aspects of public health.

“One billion people suffer from a mental illness. Every year, three million people die from the harmful use of alcohol, while one person commits suicide every 40 seconds,” he stated.

The issue has exacerbated as a result of societal shame, prejudice, and maltreatment of those with mental illnesses, according to Igwe.