…says it’s okay for abused men to seek help
Disturbed over the growing rate of mental instability in the country, a therapist, Mima Odiegwu, has said it was critical for politicians to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine their mental state before vying for positions.
Odiegwu who is President and CEO, Lifelines with Mima, a subsidiary of Purple Lifeline Connections, backed the call by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for a psychiatric evaluation and drugs test before the 2023 elections by politicians, while addressing newsmen at the weekend in Abuja.
She said: “A lot of times many of us are not stable mentally. Our idea in this part of the world of being unstable is when you take off your clothes and start running on the streets but there are different degrees of mental health; there are people that are narcissistic, there are people who by their genetic modification or creation are not okay upstairs.
“Ithink it is necessary for us to do such evaluations on our politicians and people that we leave our country in their care in trust because we have seen politicians that are punching each other practically but then again, this is Nigeria and how much can they pay the person carrying out the evaluation not to keep quiet even if the person sees something is wrong.”
The marriage counsellor and relationship coach who expressed commitment to assisting people with cases of mental health and relationship/marriage issues, disclosed that this far, she has rendered medical assistance to about 700 survivors of mental illhealth, emotional distress and violence within and outside the country.
While attributing the increasing cases of domestic violence among couples to mental ill health, illiteracy and poverty, she noted that a United Nations survey shows that 50 percent of married women and 25 percent of married men were victims of domestic violence in the country.
The therapist urged survivors of domestic.violence to seek timely help saying, “There’s nothing shameful about coming out to say, my wife is abusive, there’s nothing shameful to get help. When you know maybe your wife is having a mental health problem and she needs to get help; It’s critical and important.”
End.
