By Abolaji Adebayo
If you are feeling bored, anxious and irritable since you obeyed the directives of the government to stay at home to be safe from the spread of the COVID-19, don’t panic.
Although medical experts have projected that there would be high rate of depression, anxiety and other health issues among citizens as the impact of self-isolation and social distancing bites harder, Echonews offers at least 10 tested ways to avoid going bonkers.
Analyzing the situation, the Medical Director/CEO of Isolo General Hospital, Dr. Godwin Akhabhoa, said: “I know that when people are doing what they are not used to, there will always be a reaction, but no one can really envisage the clear impact it will have on people.
The medical director likened the situation to a family in which the parents are trying to prevent their kids from getting hurt.
His words: “But the government of the country is like parents who want the best for their children and go out to enforce the measure to keep their children at home in this trying time. The children are not allowed to go out or even play football.
“Obviously, the children will not be happy but in the long run, the parents would have saved them from the possible danger out there. That just explains what this stay-at-home is all about. It may not be convenient, but it is for the greater good of everybody. This is to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
What is driving concerns about the effects of staying at home is that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerians were already prone to depression and similar conditions.
In 2017, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that there were 7 million sufferers of depression in Nigeria making Nigeria the most affected in Africa.
The report confirmed an earlier study by the international organisation in 2013 that recommended the need to bridge the gap in the treatment of mental cases in the country.
According to the Country Contextualisation Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention published August 20, 2013 by the WHO, “multi-site World Mental Health Surveys, revealed a huge treatment gap in both developed and developing countries. In Nigeria, only 20% of people with serious common mental disorders received treatment in the preceding 12 months, and this treatment was mostly below the standards for minimally adequate care.”
The study advised that community health workers be trained to handle basic tasks relating to mental health at the primary care centres, adding that a five level structure be put in place at higher levels to address more difficult cases.
Demonstrating global concerns for mental health in the country, the World Bank in 2016 also funded a study on depression in Nigeria.
Co-ordinated by the Bank’s The Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD) in partnership with the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, it collected a nationally representative sample via a new round of the General Household Survey Panel conducted in 2015-2016 using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CESD).
The report found that one in five Nigerian respondents have depressive symptoms.
“On average, 22% of Nigerian respondents – 74% who are household heads, 27% who are female – have depressive symptoms,” it stated.
According to the report, there are strong socio-economic gradients at play with respect to depression.
“Being in the bottom 30% of the income distribution is positively associated with depression. Even worse, adverse events affecting these households add another 10 per cent points to the probability of the respondent having depressive symptoms. Poverty and shocks go hand in hand. There is a strong correlation between depression and labor market outcomes.”
Although Nigeria formulated a mental policy in 1991, its implementation has largely been ineffective.
In “Prevention Depression, A Global Priority” Doctors Pim Cuijpers, Art Beekman and Charles Reynolds III wrote: “More than 30 randomized trials have demonstrated that preventive interventions can reduce the incidence of new episodes of major depressive disorder by about 25% and by as much as 50% when preventive interventions are offered in stepped-care format. Methods with proven effectiveness involve educational, psychotherapeutic, pharmacological, lifestyle, and nutritional interventions.”
Webmd, an online medical advice medium, lists the warning signs you are likely to fly off the handle as lack of sleep, chest pain, fatigue and exhaustion, aching muscles and joints, digestive problems, headaches, changes in appetite or weight, back pain and restlessness.
To avoid depression, doctors advise that you:
- Stop alcohol and the use of performance enhancing drugs or drinks.
- Eat well.
- Make more friends and enlarge your network.
- Exercise regularly.
- Improve your self-confidence and self -esteem.
- Reach out and develop harmonious relationship with your family.
- Practice meditation and yoga.
- Adjust your attitude to any medical challenge you may be facing.
- taking occasional walk or regular breaks from sitting down. Take 6,000 steps per day and don’t sit for one hour without standing up for 15 minutes
- find a relaxing hobby, such as gardening or play games such as Ludo, Chess, Ayo, Scrabble
- Do breathing exercises to lose your heart rate
- Change the way you approach your personal and professional life
- Reduce your pressure to perform, lower your standards
- Share responsibilities and delegate tasks.
Psychologists believe these measures will reduce depression, noting that humans are wired to interact with others, especially during times of stress, adding that when going through a trying ordeal alone, a lack of emotional support and friendship can increase the anxiety and hinder the ability to cope.
