Nigeria’s caring telecom brand, 9mobile, has held its fifth edition of its health talk series with the theme of discussion focused on Mental Health – The Myth, The Challenge and Recovery. 

The session which was live-streamed on the @healthertainer Instagram handle, featured Africa’s leading mental health advocate and coach, Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri as facilitator. In her presentation, she highlighted some of the myths around mental health challenges and more importantly, what the recovery process entailed.

While dismissing some of the myths, she remarked that mental illness does not have any spiritual undertone as people are made to believe particularly in our clime. Rather, mental health is simply another health challenge that belonged to the category of non-communicable diseases.

She noted that 1 in every 5 persons in Nigeria has mental illness, with data showing that mental illness starts before the age of 14 in some instances. “Everybody has mental health but not everybody has mental illness which is a medical condition as it were. It will therefore be correct to conclude that nobody has immunity against mental health disorder,” she stated.

Enumerating some of the stress factors that could trigger mental illness, she said, “Some of the risk factors include; death of one’s parent or loved ones, divorce in families, domestic violence, positive family history of mental illness and of course, societal pressure, which can be attributed to the harsh socio-economic realities in the country.”         
Commenting on the session, Executive Director, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, 9mobile, Abdulrahman Ado, who was represented by 9mobile’s Public Relations Lead, Chineze Amanfo, reiterated that mental health challenges should be paid more attention, particularly among the productive population. He said “Mental Health is a critical issue that needs attention. 9mobile will continue to bring the issue to the fore to promote a healthier and saner society for all. Therefore, we are excited that the Health Talk Series for 2022 has kick-started on a very impactful note, with emphasis on mental well-being which is paramount for optimal productivity. This is one of the reasons why we focus on Health as one of our strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) pillars”