Expert Identifies Causes Of Mental Illness

A psychologist, Mrs Ndata Chinyere, says among the various possible causes of mental illness in adolescent are victim of abuse and poverty.
Mrs Chinyere, who is a lecturer at the Elechi Amadi Polytechnic stated this recently during events marking the 2018 World Mental Health Week in Port Harcourt.
She explained that being exposed to violence and stress related chronic poverty in adolescence could result in mental illness.
Chinyere explained that environmental factors that led to chemical imbalances in the body or damage to the central nervous system may create biological vulnerabilities.
“When the vulnerabilities are coupled with environmental conditions high in chaos and low in security and safety, such as exposure to violence, including witnessing or being victim abuse, stress related to chronic poverty, discrimination, or other serious hardship, and the loss of important people through death, divorce, or broken relationships, mental disorders may result”, she said.
Chinyere stated that in many cases, mental illness emerges as a consequence of biological and environmental interactions.
An example, she said, is “the predisposition of disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression are genetically heritable and may be activated by particular environment”.
Signs of mental disorder, she continued, are often symptoms of deterioration in health and function, before becoming frequent and disrupting daily life.
“Early onset mental disorders may be episodic at first, but tend to increase in severity, duration and level of disruption over time,” she said
On how to check the trend of such mental illness, Mrs Chinyere said there has to be a collaborative effort.
According to her, mental health would need to be inculcated in youths academically and socially as part of education.
Earlier in her speech, a clinical psychologist,. Mrs Maduka Ada identified good and bad mental health.
She emphasized on the need for parents to communicate more frequently and effectively with their children and wards to be able to ascertain their state of health.
The programme was organized by the Nigerian Psychological Association (NPA), Port Harcourt chapter in collaboration with Mentally Aware Nigerian Initiative (MAN), at Port Harcourt International School.

Sogbeba Dokubo