Many Nigerian children, adolescents and adults have suffered and are still suffering from various psychological disorders through the length and breadth of Nigerian society.
Every day, the media reports delinquent acts among the youth such as armed robbery, gangsterism, area boy’s syndrome, rape, sexual harassment, drug abuse, cheating, advanced fee fraud (419), stealing, drunkenness, secret cult, and the likes.
Schools and hospitals record cases of anxiety, depression psychosis, schizophrenia, eating disorders, bedwetting (enuresis), learning disabilities, mental retardation, and conduct disorder among orders.
Visits to the police stations, courts, prisons and hospitals reveal that it is mostly children and the youth in society that are arrested, detained, tried and punished for various crimes and delinquent acts/ misdemenours.
Even though, a large population of individuals suffer from these disorders, ignorance on the part of parents, teachers, administrators, colleagues and care givers etc prevent them from helping the victim’s (patients) to overcome such disorders. This has led and is leading to series of cases of schools dropouts, truancy, ill health and even death among such victims in Nigeria and beyond.
One may ask, what are psychological disorders? Psychological disorders are simply viewed as mental disorders, psychiatric disorders, mental ill health, emotional disorders and behavioural disorders. These can be used interchangeably.
Disorders are described as abnormal behaviour, behaviour that is below average, against social norms and violates social or common good and causes distress, pain and inconveniences not only to the victim (patient) but others in society.
This Counselling Tips column will be offering explanations for the various psychological issues and even marital issues. Some marital issues arise because of prevalent emotional distress in some spouses. An unemotionally stable spouse may have little to give in a marriage. Several other issues such as addictions, what and how our children are learning, growing up and growing old shall be looked at and management strategies and solutions will be proffered. Keep a date with me!
