Last year ... washell(in some religions,the place believed to be the home of devil and where bad people go after death).
It was my first time eating Nigerian "jollof."
Actually, in all seriousness, I was going through a lot of personalturmoil(a fictional character). Faced with enormous stress, I suffered an anxiety attack. On some days, I could do no work. On other days, I just wanted to lay in my bed and cry.
My doctor asked if I'd like to speak with a mental health professional about my stress and anxiety. Mental health? I clammed up and violently shook my head inprotest(the expression of strong disagreement with or opposition to sth). I felt aprofound(showing intellectual penertration or emotional depth)sense of a shame. I felt the weight ofstigma(the apical of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil). I have a loving, supportive family and incredibly loyal friends, yet I could not entertain the idea of speaking to anyone about my feeling of pain. I feltsuffocated(deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing)by therigid(incapable of or resistant to bending)architecture of our Africanmasculinity(the properties characteristice of the male sex). "People have real problems, Sangu. Get over yourself!"
The first time I heard "mental health," I was a boarding school student fresh off the boat from Ghana, at the Peddie School in New Jersey. I had just gone through thebrutal(able to disposed to inflict pain or suffering)experience of losing seven loved ones in the same month. The school nurse, concerned about what I'd gone through — God bless her soul — she inquired about my mental health. "Is she mental?" I thought. Does she not know I'm an African man?
Like Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart," we African men neither process nor express our emotions. We deal with our problems.
We deal with our problems. I called my brother and laughed about "Oyibo" people — white people —and their strange diseases — depression, ADD and those "weird things." Growing up in West Africa,when people used the term "mental," what came to mind was a madman with dirty, dread-locked hair,bumbling(make a mess of, destory or ruin)around half-naked on the streets. We all know this man. Our parents warned us about him."Mommy, mommy, why is he mad?" "Drugs! If you even look at drugs, you end up like him."
Come down with pneumonia, and your mother will rush you to the nearest hospital for medical treatment.But dare to declare depression, and your localpastor(a person authorized to conduct religious worship)will be driving out demons and blaming witches in your village.
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is about being able to cope with the normal stressors of life; to work productively and fruitfully; and to be able to make a contribution to your community. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. Globally, 75 percent of all mental illness cases can be found in low-income countries. Yet most African governments invest less than one percent of their health care budget in mental health.
Even worse, we have a severe shortage of psychiatrists in Africa. Nigeria, for example, is estimated to have 200 — in a country of almost 200 million. In all of Africa, 90 percent of our people lack access to treatment. As a result, we suffer in solitude, silenced by stigma.
We as Africans often respond to mental health with distance, ignorance, guilt, fear and anger. In a study conducted by Arboleda-Flórez, directly asking, "What is the cause of mental illness?" 34 percent of Nigerian respondents cited drug misuse; 19 percent saiddivine(emanating from god)wrath and the will of God —
12 percent,witchcraft(the art of sorcery)and spiritual possession. But few cited other known causes of mental illness, like genetics, socioeconomic status, war, conflict or the loss of a loved one. The stigmatization against mental illness often results in theostracizing（expel from a community or group)and demonizing of sufferers. Photojournalist Robin Hammond has documented some of these abuses ... in Uganda, in Somalia, and here in Nigeria.
For me, the stigma is personal. In 2009, I received afrantic(marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion)call in the middle of the night. My best friend in the world — a brilliant, philosophical,charming(pleasing or delighting), hip young man — was diagnosed withschizophrenia(any of several psychotic disorders characterized by distortions of reality and disturbances of thought and language and withdrawal from social contact). I witnessed some of the friends we'd grown up withrecoil(the backward jeck of a gun when it is fired).I heard thesnickers(laugh quietly; a disrespectful laugh). I heard the whispers. "Did you hear he has gone mad?" "He start torch o!"Derogatory(expressive of low opinion),demeaning(v.reduce in worth or character, usually verbally; adj, causing awareness of your shortcomings)commentary(a written explanation or criticism or illustration that is added to a book or other textual material)about his condition — words we would never say about someone with cancer or someone with malaria. Somehow, when it comes to mental illness, our ignoranceeviscerates(surgically remove a part of a structure or an organ)all empathy. I stood by his side as his community isolated him, but our love never wavered.
Tacitly, I became passionate about mental health. Inspired by hisplight(a situation from which extrication is diffcult especially an unpleasant or trying one), I helped found the mental health special interestalumni(a person who has received a degree from a school)group at my college. And during mytenure(give life-time employment to)as aresident(living in a particular place)tutor in graduate school, I supported many undergraduates with their mental health challenges. I saw African students struggle and unable to speak to anyone. Even with this knowledge and with their stories intow(the act of hauling something by means of hitch or rope ), I, in turn, struggled,and could not speak to anyone when I faced my own anxiety, so deep is our fear of being the madman.
All of us — but we Africans especially — need to realize that our mental struggles do notdetract(take away a part from)from ourvirility(having the chatacteristic of an adult male), nor does ourtrauma(an emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects)taint(contaminate with a disease or microorganism)our strength. We need to see mental health as important as physical health. We need to stop suffering in silence. We must stop stigmatizing disease and traumatizing the afflicted.
Talk to your friends. Talk to your loved ones. Talk to health professionals. Bevulnerable(capable of being wounded or hurt). Do so with the confidence that you are not alone. Speak up if you're struggling. Being honest about how we feel does not make us weak; it makes us human.
It is time to end the stigma associated with mental illness. So the next time your hear "mental," do not just think of the madman. Think of me.
