MYSTERIOUSMINDS!

The Parable of The Monkeys 2

2010-05-08T21:15:00.002+01:00

Once upon a time, a certain man bought 5 monkeys, a cage and some bananas. He hung the bananas on a rope and put some stairs under them all inside the cage. Then he introduced only one monkey into the cage. Of course, no sooner than the monkey got into the cage than the monkey tried to grab the banana. The man however took a hose of water and flooded the monkey with cold water. He flooded the monkey so much that the monkey left the banana. After 30minutes, the monkey tried again and the man flooded the monkey again. He tried again in the evening and got the same reaction. After a while, the monkey gave up. After some time, the man introduced the second monkey into the cage. The monkey approaches the banana as a sharp monkey. As the monkey tried to grab the banana, the owner flooded it with water. It tried to grab the banana again and the first monkey grabbed it and beat it up. Later in the evening, the second monkey tried to grab the banana after the first monkey had slept, and the owner of the monkeys flooded it with water and the monkey gave up.

A few days later, the owner introduced the third monkey into the cage. He saw the monkeys and the bananas and thought to himself ‘these monkeys must be fools, look at banana!’ The third monkey thereafter approached the bananas to grab it, the two other monkeys grabbed it and gave it a thorough beating. He tried again, they beat it up. After a few trials and same reaction, the third monkey gave up. After a while, the man removed the first two monkeys, and left the third monkey. He later introduced the fourth monkey into the cage. Remember, the third monkey did not experience the water, but beating. So when the fourth monkey tried to take the monkey, but the third monkey beat it up. Later the man introduced the fifth monkey, and the other two monkeys beat it up thoroughly. After a while, the fifth monkey asked the other monkeys, ‘why are you beating me?’ They answered, ‘we don’t know!, but anytime we go near the bananas we are beaten.’ The water hose had dried, the man who was flooding the monkeys had stopped, but because they had lived in the culture where things had always been done in a certain way, they held to that culture and refuse to ask questions.

Now, you and I are similar to those monkeys. We have been told to go to schools, get good grades, get a job, live ever after and die. But we went to school, got good grades, studied good courses, got good jobs, retired and still discovered we are not able to meet our needs! We have been told either actively or passively that that it the way it is done.

Many of us also yield to our fears. The fear of being flooded inspired the beatings. While the flooding had stopped, the beatings continued. Many of us are afraid of stepping out of our comfort zones because of the failings of others.

Many of us also do not ask questions. We just do the things that many have been doing for years with little to show for it, and we hope things will get better somehow.

Now, for the second time in as many months, I had a heavy heart after hearing the misfortune of many of my friends and colleagues who are were not successful in the Part one examination of the National Post graduate Medical College. These are hard working folks, diligent in their work, but are in a culture where failure is regarded as normal. In fact, it seems there is a deliberate effort to keep an elitist fellowship group. I know the same can be said of a number of other professions e.g Accountancy. The interesting thing also is that the return on investment seems not to be commensurate with the huge investments in thousands of naira to buy books, pay for examination fees, travel expenses, hotel bills etc. Not to talk of the emotional investments.

A number of us have started asking questions. Why will we make such sacrifices and yet still live an average life. Sometime we live below the standard lived by those who left school to pursue other things.

So when you are telling your little ones to work hard, get good grades, study good courses and go on to get good jobs, be careful what you are passing from monkey to monkey.

If you have the guts to ask questions and consider alternatives you may check here:

http://www.holidaysandcash.com/ni.php?user=mayorking

The Parable of the Monkeys.

2010-05-08T21:12:00.000+01:00

I had just finished talking to some of my friends who are in Ibadan just before I started writing this piece. They have just received news of the result of the first phase of the Part 1 examination of the West African College of Physicians in their various departments. As is usually the case, it was a period of mixed feelings. I was happy for my friends that were able to pass this first stage that qualifies them for the next stage of the examination, which is essentially clinical, while I was sad for the ones that could not proceed to this next stage. It is needless to say that a lot of effort had gone into the preparation for this exam by the different candidates. Where does one begin from? Is it the financial implications, the emotional investment or the sacrifices that must have been made, especially by the married people who usually deny their family the required attention while preparing for this examination?

Now why is this particular issue of paramount importance in my discussion today? The answer lies in the fact that I have the knowledge of how much the passing of this exam translates into monetary terms, especially in the immediate short term period. I also remember that I was in Minna for a meeting a few weeks ago in after which the National Association Of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) issued a communiqué to the effect that the circularized new salary scale called CONMESS should be paid with arrears by the end of April, failure of which the Association may be forced to take drastic actions. So with so much sacrifice in trying to improve oneself, the financial reward is not commensurate with the input. A good number of this people that I talk about still find if difficult to do some basic things in their life because of lack of money. The struggle and rat race that we find ourselves in brought to my mind the parable of the monkeys.
So what is the parable of the monkeys and in what way is it related to all that I have said above?

I will be answering these questions in subsequent posts. Meanwhile stay blessed.

Michael Jackson; A gifted singer and performer, but troubled soul.

2009-06-26T17:30:00.000+01:00

The news of the sudden death of pop icon and superstar, Michael Jackson filled the airwaves. Everybody has something to say about Wacko Jacko as he is called. Michael Jackson was said to have collapsed in his Los Angelis house at about 12.30pm Los Angelis time and his death was confirmed at about 2.25pm L.A time. The immediate cause of death was cardiac arrest, but there were reports of the fact that ha has been having problems with prescription drugs for a long time. Michael seems to be not only a bundle of talents, from his weird but creative lyrics to his dancing steps and choreography including the moon walking, but he was also an embodiment of emotional problems and psychiatric manifestations.
But first let talk about his talent, music, lyrics and dances and the impact they have on many of us. Like Larry King said in his interview on CNN, while it is true that he had a troubled life full of scandals and wrong choices, it is also true that he was talented beyond measures. What is sure is that he gave us his talent, let us celebrate that.
All of us have something to say about Michael Jackson. It could be the good, the bad or the ugly, but none of us can ignore him! For me, I will say that I was fascinated by his creativity. His lyrics were out of this world, but I have always had a suspicion for the mysterious mind that will be churning out such weird subjects at a consistently regular frequency. What do you have to say about things like Thriller, Dangerous, and Bad. Of course he was also instrumental to the USA for Africa fame, but for a young boy that I was, the video of his Thriller album always invoke a mixed feeling of fear, amazement and admiration.
Now going down memory lane, I remember how my big cousin will clear the centre table in our house then just to dance to the music of Michael Jackson with moves like backslide, head spin and trying to mimic his moon walking moves. Then I also remember how with each passing year, his once handsome face was constantly changing until it eventually became like that of a ghost. I remember myself wondering if he really wanted to become like one of the ghosts in his Thriller video. Then as the years went bye, the news started changing from his ingenuity to his ignobility. It now became constant news to have a scandal about wacko Jacko. If he is not accused of molesting little children, he was seen attempting to throw down hi baby from the back of his balcony, to financial problems and marital woes. There was a time it was even said that he could never attempt coming to Africa because of his skin. A black man who could not come to the original home of all blacks !
One will never really know the depth of the mysteries in the mind of this genius, but it has been said that there is a thin line between genius and madness. I will attempt to highlight some of the emotional issues and Psychiatric issues that I think plagued his ingenious but troubled life in subsequent posts in this blog. But for now I join millions in the world who were touch by his music and dance and who are feeling a sense of loss and vacuum about the news of his death in saying ,ADIEU MICHEAL JACKSON.

AN INTERVIEW WITH RICK WARREN (AUTHOR OF "A PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE")

2009-06-18T07:22:00.002+01:00

Interview with Rick Warren , author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California .

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.

God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain."

But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal my wife or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better ...

God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD

Rape by CIA officer in Algiers; Violent offences not more in the mentally ill.

2009-01-29T06:50:00.008+01:00

I have been reading some materials on forensic Psychiatry in recent times. It is widely reported that crime and violent behaviour is not more in psychiatric patients than in the normal population.
I know that a lot of people will dispute that but it is supported by research!

So I was not surprised a few minutes ago when I saw on Associated Press video on Yahoo about the case of a CIA chief in Algeria( a muslim convert himself) who was alleged to have raped two muslim women at separate times. The report even had it that videos of him having sex with many women at different time were recovered in his apartment. He was reported to have used some drugs on the women whom he picked up at the bar in the American Embassy. One onders how a highly discilplined and thorough Agency ould not have discovered this man in their routine review and screening of officers.

Well, sexual indescretion is one of a number of mental illnesses like Mania, Schizophrenia and some sexual disorders and even personality disorders, as well as substance use but these are usually not highly planned but many atimes spontaneous as their lack of good judgement and disinhibition takes the better of them.

So next time you are wont to argue about aggression, violent and violent crime in the mentally ill know that it is not particularly more in the mentally ill than in the normal population. In fact, there are a number of factors that come to play in the issue of aggression, violence and violent crime. These include Genetic and physiological factors, psychological factors and a small group of Psychiatric causes. But as you know, these is important as it may be treatable or manageable.

As a matter of fact, social factors like poverty and poor parenting pattern(either too harsh or to permissive or even deprivation in many forms) seem to be more important than other factors.
Moreover , exposure to physical abuse or neglect in childhood significantly increases the risk of violent offending in later life for both men and women.

The way in which genetic factors mediate the increase in offending is unclear but involve the hyperactivity and low IQ which are factors in children for subsequent adult offending. A lot has also been said about the Y -chromosome and hormonal abnormality due to the fact that ration of men to women vilent offenders at least in the prison population could be as high as 30:1! We know that low serotonin function in the brain hace been linked with impulsive aggression!

So with the few things that I have mentioned above, you will agree with me that the CIA offecer is not likely to be a mentally ill person and so his case goes on to butress the fact that violent offending is not the exclusive behaviour of the mentally ill.Infact, it may not be particularly more in the mentally ill!

Poor Judgement; Reinforcement for Corruption!

2009-01-22T19:21:00.003+01:00

So many things came up from my visit to Psychiatric Hospital, Uselu. It seems as if my creative juice which seems to have dried up for some time was just let loose by that visit. It seems to be getting secreted my the minute from the experiences I had during that visit.

Now, I had some arrears of salaries that I had not received for some time paid me in person during that visit. The interesting thing is that I had already received some amount which is for the arrears of CONTISS and was so happy about it, only for a colleague to point out to me that I still had not received at least 3 months arrears from about 15% increase in salary that was paid in November, 2006 for the earlier months of that year. The interesting thing is that I had written some letter of authority which I sent to a friend and colleague for the money to be collected on my behave. The claim is that I must have to write such as long as I have left the services of that hospital.

And so, my visit was to touch base, to sign a couple of forms to register for my forth-coming examination and then to collect the above arrears. Like I was saying before, I had to go back to accounts section of that hospital to ask for the 15% salary arrears. In the process, the record of my bank account was called for and all the account resolved. So I was paid the money. Now, the interesting thing is that the account section had always have my bank details in their records and yet they refused to pay in the money until I have to show up in person! Is that not incredible? Is that not poor judgement? Well, maybe it is just plain corruption that is embedded in the system!

So, I have some catching up to do and I will like to stop here since I have made my point. But seriously, when will we lift our nation out of this quagmire of wide spread distorted thinking that is embedded in the system that is festering corruption? Why can't we just simply do the right things and put our nation on the road to greatness. After all "righteousness exalted a nation and sin is a reproach to any people".

I will be talking more about this widespread poor judgement which is reinforced by corruption that is embedded in the system in subsequent post. For now, I am out of here! Keep moving and think right!

Communication; essential ingredient in building relationships.

2009-01-21T18:10:00.003+01:00

My visit to Psychiatric Hospital was eventful and fulfilling. I had already told you about that experience. I am in my study all right. I already proposed to do more study these days than being on the net.However my mind just wandered to a statement made by one of my senior colleagues in that hospital. He said that the scope of Psychiatry is wide because even in the professional exam, someone can just record a scene at the market place and ask questions about it. That is the practicality of Psychiatry; it has a lot of relevence in everyday life.

That is the thought that preoccupied my mind as I recapped all that transpired today. I surely saw the relevence of what I am doing in terms of establishing and maintaining good relationship be it at home, at work, at the place of worship and in the wider social context.

Communication is one of the most important ingredients of good relationships.Lack of good communication skills can spoil an otherwise cordial relationship. It can sometimes determine how successful our marriage, career or any other human endeavour we find ourselves will be.

Take for instance the case of an employee who decided to travel for days without the knowledge of the employer due to a certain so-called important issue. No permission sort and therefore non-granted. Yet the same employee is now evokes God when the employer decided to deduct the wage for the number of days that the employee was not at work. Maybe simple communication of the need to be away for certain pressing issues would have forestall such! Many people find it difficult to hold down a good job because of poor communication skills. They assume a lot of things, as if the next person can read the mind. They are lackadaisical about the work they do and only offer a lot of fantastic reasons for whatever lapses they have only when they are found out. It has been said that 'one's attitude determines the altitude'. They never really amount to much in terms of holding down a job or building career.

Take another case of two colleagues. One made a simple request of the other to take his call duty because he had reasons to travel at that particular time. The friend promised to check his schedule and get back to the colleague if he can take the call or not. He never did! Even when his friend was calling to find out about his decision and to know if he should make alternative arrangements or not he didn't pick his calls. The friend sent him text messages to know his decision, he never replied them! A simple no would have been okay. He however did not communicate with his colleague and yet did not take the call duty! He justified himself on having something very important to do. Simple communication about his decision would have solved the problem. Talk about an essential ingredient in relationships. If their is no effective communication channels, it can lead to prejudices, dangerious assumptions, gossips and even outright resentments.

There is no type of human relationship in which the need for communication is more obvious than in the area of marriage. A couple got married and later started having problems because the husband believed that God wants him to be in Nigeria and the wife insists that she must live abroad. Eventually they had to go separate ways because of this and other irreconcilable differences! One wonders if they never got to share their different believes and harmonise it before signing the dotted lines. Talk about communication.

Now, relationships are essential parts of the human society. The measures of the health of our relationships can give an insight into our personality which is a very important component of our mental health and well being or lack of it as the case may be. If effective communication can help in building and mentaining healthy relationships, it could be said that effective communication can help improve and mentain good mental health.

Need for Appreciation and Love; Lesson from my visit to Psychiatric Hospital,Uselu.

2009-01-20T05:44:00.003+01:00

It is my wedding anniversary today. I had already got goodwill messages as early as 12.00am from one of my brothers and a lengthy one from my mum. Both admonition and prayers rolled into one! That is typical of my mother anyway,such a sweet woman she is. By the way I am going to be on the road today. At least I am going to be with my lovely wife in the evening. That is better than not being around at all which was the initial plan. That is because I was able to complete all that I set out to do in the City of Benin yesterday.

And talking about my journey to Benin. Well I must say that it was full of nostalgia. Right from the time I got to Edo state while coming on Sunday,it was like I am back home. i think I have a lot of fond memories of the place. Although I was initially doing everything to leave immediately when I came to the City, I later found my feet and it was not really easy leaving when I had to leave for Jos about a year and a half ago. Now, that may not be unconnected with the fact that I started my residency programme in Psychiatry at the Psychiatric Hospital ,Uselu, Benin City. I love Psychiatry ,and I have grown to love the people who introduce Psychiatry to me as a green resident.

However, the reality of the dynamics of Benin City soon hit me when my friend that was suppose to come and carry me from the park could not. One thing is that you have to be careful in Benin as a lot of robbery goes on in the city of Benin. I had to board a rickety cab that took me to the house! That is Benin o. Although the rate of robbery has reduced drastically after the ban of the movement of motorcycles after the hour of 7.00pm, yet it is dangerous for my friend to risk his sleek Nissan Maxima car.Hmmm!

So that was my grand entrance into the City of Benin. Come to think of it. The whole period was very eventful. not with the sharp contrast of the weather between Jos and Benin. I lost so much fluid to perspiration and had to drink a lot of water too! But the reception and the feeling of comradeship I got in the Hospital was great. Starting from the hospital maid attached to our call room and resident room who nearly fell me down while she jumped on me with excitement, to the nurses who displayed a lot of affection and the account and admin staffs and of course my own constituency, the doctors. I really did not know that I was that loved for the 10 months that I was at that hospital. I must confess that despite my believe in recent times that I am now less emotional than before and that I can do without all the outward show of affection, I found out that all that was wishful thinking and unnecessary. Everybody wants to be appreciated and loved!

And so for the feeling of comradeship and all the cooperation I got from the hospital community, I was able to complete all that I set out to do in 2 days in a day including collecting some arrears of CONTISS and 15% of Salary increase that have not been paid me. Well that story is for another post.

Now I am preparing to go back home and spend a few hours with my wife on our 2nd wedding anniversary, witness history of swearing in of Obama as the first black president of United State while at the same time I was just wondering what the feeling would have been if I had met a lot of unfriendly faces, resistance or uncooperative staff. That would have led to a lot of frustration and internal rumblings given the fact that I travelled such a long distance to have these things done. Now, I understand that the need for love, and appreciation is one the most important needs of man and the lack of it can be a psychostressor that may have serious consequences on your mental well-being. That is if it doesn't lead to frank mental breakdown!

Poor Judgement; Babangida's Theory on Guinea

2009-01-11T13:27:00.005+01:00

I love psychiatry and it shows.It gives me a wider way of viewing things as against the parochial ways that I see people view things around me.That is what happened to me about 30minutes ago when on reaching home from church I browsed through a copy of this day magazine on Sunday that I bought on my way home.My usual practice is to browse the paper and then settle to read the whole paper through.However I had to immediately read a piece that is titled "IBB's Theory on Guinea".

Now IBB is the former military dictator who ruled Nigeria between 1985 and 1993.He was reputed to have organized the freest and fairest election in the history of Nigeria.But incidentally he also annulled the same election! Moreover, he came into power by staging a palace coup against the same military government in which he was the chief of Army Staff. In the course of his rule, he executed his childhood friend Mamman Vatsa for staging a coup against his government, because it is treason to stage a coup against a sitting government. One question I have always asked is this; Is the truth relative? Is right or wrong relative? Is there no right or wrong or does the concept of right or wrong depend on who is interpreting it? If a Mamman Vatsa was executed for conducting a coup, why is an Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida not executed for conducting a coup.Simple, he succeeded! However, let us face it, if I steal and was not caught but later found out it still makes me a thief.If I murder somebody and was not found out immediately and I was found out 5 years later, it still makes me a murderer. Babangida was a coup plotter,though he succeeded, that does not mean he is innocent. No, he was involved in treason and should be tried for treasonable felony. The sane goes for all that were involved in coup in the past, like Muhammad Buhari.

Why am I suddenly bringing up this line of thinking. It is because of what I read in the piece titled "IBB's Theory on Guinea".According to the article, Babangida says the military takeover in Guinea was a fitting and patriotic step to save a dangerous polarised country. Can you imagine? To Babangida's mind, the concept of right or wrong does not exist but anybody can leave his constitutional role and dabble into strange terrain all in the name of patriotism. He believes that a soldier that has the constitutional role of protecting the territorial integrity of a country can turn round and topple the government of the same country in the name of patriotism. He is inclined towards a master corrective role for the military on the political stage.He went against the constitution, got away with it and then canvasing that others should go against the law and the collective will of the people. The reason is very simple. His judgement was poor, was poor throughout his rule and still remains poor. He can openly say such folly because he was not tried for treason, and still enjoys the status of an ex-ruler being paid the tax payers' money and enjoying the highest honour of the land! If his government had been declared as illegal and an illegality by act of Parliament,he would have no audacity to make such outrageous pronouncement. At least, former president Olusegun Obasanjo received presidential pardon for a phantom coup before he could walk the streets freely and then went on to become a president.
So, for planning a coup, Babangida should be made to face the same treatment that he meted out to people who were caught planning a coup too. After all, Gideon Okar and co were also trying to save the country from the misrule of Babangida and his cohort who elevated corruption to an exalted position and institutionalized it.

So, judgement is an integral part of the mental state examination. It gives us an idea of the thinking of the individual. Over the years, Babangida as shown a lot of poor judgement, before, during and after government.Even in this days when military rule is widely condemned all over the world, he still maintains his poor judgement.One wonders why the Nigerian government will send such a person as representative in such an issue as the forceful takeover by the military in Guinea.

Assault On Doctors, A Disturbing Trend That Must Stop.

2008-12-23T22:43:00.007+01:00

I am thinking of work again in the morning! I didn't go to work yesterday.

Truly I have been so taken up by some other projects that I am involved in that I have not been updating this blog regularly. You only have so much of 24hours in a day, so my recent project that involve seminar and workshop organizations and delivery as well as public/motivational speaking in the area of Personal development and Peak performance including Stress management have taken much of that. I am also involved in some wealth creation and e-business. Remember I am still Resident doctor as it were. Click here to see more of that.
However as the saying goes 'a river can never forget its source, otherwise it will dry'. I love medical practice itself , most especially psychiatry/mental health. It is a passion and a driving force. Once I start talking to a patient, I am taken up. I love the Psychiatric history because it fits my love for people and the natural desire to know people and help themas regards the mind. Where else do become vulnerable and therefore become trusting if not when they tell you intimate things about themselves most especially when you have won their confidence.

So why didn't I go to work yesterday. The Association Resident Doctors(ARD), JUTH Chapter called a warning strike which was to be on for every Tuesday until three weeks when it should be full blown if the demands are not met.

Do I hear you say not again?Before you jump into conclusions let me intimate you with what happened.

Thirteen days ago, a doctor was assaulted while on duty at the Casualty section of the hospital, doing his work as a servant of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The assailant also threatened to to get the doctor sacked brandishing the name of the Chief Medical Director, and even threatened to have him dealt with anywhere within Jos. As it turned out to be, he is a son-in-law to the former deputy governor of Plateau State, Chief Michael Botman and he set at intimidating everybody with that. He was alleged to have brought the corpse of his brother-in-law (Botman's son) who slumped at home and died on the way to the hospital.His accusation was that the particular doctor was discussing with a colleague of his and smiling when he is bereaved. As a matter of fact he assaulted another doctor whom he mistook for the assaulted doctor after depositing the corpse in the morgue.

Although the case was reported to the Hospital authorities who then reported to the Police, the assailant was not arrested until the strike declared as the family claimed they needed time to mourn their loss before releasing him for arrest! That in itself called for worry.However, the dead was buried on Friday and yet the assailant was not arrested until the warning strike!

ARD therefore had no option than to take action as it seemed things were being dragged and the right of doctors being trampled upon.As they say, an injustice to one is an injustice to all. It also seems that people are now in the habit of intimidating doctors at their duty post, not with the recent similar episode in Umuahia where a government official also assaulted a doctor.

The Association therefore demanded the following;
-An appropriate apology from the assailant.
-Immediate arrest and prosecution of the assailant.
-An undertaken by the assailant to guarantee the security of the assaulted doctor whom he threatened.
-The hospital management should also beef up security in the hospital.

As it were I received a text message for the president of the association saying that these demands have been met. There is therefore going to be a meeting by 8 am in the morning to these and review the decision of industrial action.

With the above, I hope people will know that they cannot just start assaulting doctors who go through a lot of sacrifice and pain to render service to humanity.

Children's Day; Ensuring a better nation through development of our children.

2008-05-27T10:22:00.002+01:00

In Nigeria,Chilren's day is usually celebrated today 27th May annually.This started in the year 1979 which was the International year of the child as proclaimed by the United Nations.Although we know that the International Children's Day originated in Turkey(April 23,1920)and later in the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva,Switzerland in 1925.It is usually celebrated on June 1 in Turkey and many communist countries,but many countries have their own different days of celebration.

About 19 years ago,I was in the hospital on this day when my colleagues were on the field marching and engaged in inter-school 100m dash and relay competitions.It was in commomeration of the annual Children's day as we call the International Day of the Child locally.Of course,we always look forward to this day with excitement as it affords us an holiday and funfare of the celebration at the Township stadium(in which each school strive to outperform the other).We seem to believe in those days that all there is to the Children's day was the March past and the athletic competition!

Today I am an adult.I don't have an holiday today as I used to in those days.However,the concern that I have these days whenever today comes annually is not in any way a reflection of celebration.It seems to me that the world is getting worse and with increasing hostilities and disregard for the welfare and dignity of children.

First and foremost,there is the menace of child trafficking that has become so rampant in our society to the point that it no longer evoke the right emotion of disgust and concern that it should.It is fast becoming a normal phenomenom in our national psyche.It has come to a point that parents more or less beg the perpetrators of these act to take their own children.This of course is a reflection of the spate of poverty in the land.One cannot imagine the effect of this vice on the overall mental psychic of the child.What with the issue of parental separation and deprivation with all the attendant effects.It is modern day slavery!

Closely related to child trafficking is the issue of child labour and prostitution.Of course,the main purpose of trafficking is to provide cheap labour and services.Many of these children are used as sex slaves in foreign lands which have damaging effect of their self esteem,social relations and mental health.There is an alarming increase in the number of children street trading which exposes them to the risk of accidents, rape, illicit drugs and their attendant sequele.
There is an increase in the number of orphans and vulnerable children in our society.What with the issue of HIV/AIDS that have created a lot of orphans in its wake.The security situation is also getting worse; we now hear of children who are kidnapped for ritual purposes and also for ramsome as it is becoming common in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

With all the above,what kind of adults and future leaders do we intend to make out of our children in this generation and the next? What kind of followership do our leaders also expect ot get?It is high time that we demanded better living conditions and conducive environment for our children.Many of the vices that I have talked about above result directly and indirectly from poverty in the land.We should stop paying lip service to development but take the bull by the horn and muster the political will to improve our economy.

There have been many lofty and ambitious policies in the past which have not met the purpose for which they were conceived because there is no political will and politicians just believe in business as usual.

I believe in a better Nigeria.I believe that we are going to have emotionally stable children who are going to turn into self confident adult that will take this country out of the woods.I believe in Nigerian Children.

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!

A vacation too eventful and simply too long.

2008-05-22T22:43:00.004+01:00

About six weeks ago,I was so stressed up both physically but more of emotionally, that I had to take my annual leave.But as it is now,I will give anything to make sure that I resume work,but that is not something that I have control over right now.

I had applied for four weeks out of the possible six weeks annual leave,for which I proceeded on the 7th,April 2007.Before then,I was so stressed up emotionally that I could not do anything meaningful in terms of academics.In fact,it was as if reading and studying was anathema to me.By that I do not mean just academic books but also magazines,newspapers,motivational books etc.I guess it was not unconnected with the so called CONTISS salary structure and the inability of the management of my hospital to impliment it despite the fact that all other Federal Tertiary institutions have implimented same.I found it rather disturbing that in a civilized society,things like these could go on without being able to do anything abou it despite going as far as the National Assemble!Talk of losing faith in the system.Morever,I had moved from the Psychiatric Hospital Uselu after spending about 10 months without taking the annual leave for the year 2007.I was fargued out as it were.

Using the Holmes and Rahi life event scale,I had accumulated some good amount of points to qualify for a break down.I needed to just rest and take a break.

However,the leave period turned out to be rather very eventful.First,I got a call from an unexpected caller asking me to speak on Stress Management and HIV in the work place.This was at a workshop organized by a Management consulting outfit in conjunction with Nigeria Medical Association(N.M.A).It was an exciting time for me in the sense that I had the opportunity to talk on the relationship between stress and health and dwelt on the role of stress in mental illness most especially.

Moreover,I was able to give my wife a three-day holiday in Calabar while I was there for a speaking engagement!It was such a wonderful coincidence that I was invited to speak in Calabar when I had earlier promised to take her there on a visit.Of course,I gave her a treat and somebody else paid for the transportation and accommodation.

Have I mentioned that I was also in Benin to tie up issues on that end?Ranging from unpaid arrears at Psychiatric hospital Uselu(Though that have not been paid!),to accommodation issues,and other minor issues.

Just as I got back to Jos and rearing to go at full steam,I was plagued by that terrible accident that I mentioned in the last post.As a consequence of that accident,I presently have my right ankle in cast and as such I cannot resume back to work as I thought.Although I later found out that I was granted the full six weeks annual leave as against the four weeks that I applied for,yet even that have elapsed and I still cannot get back to work because of the sprain in the ankle.As it were,I am not even sure if the calceneous is not fractured as I have this pain whenever I step on it.At any rate I will have repeat x-ray before removing the cast next Wednesday.I sincerely hope that the repeat x-ray does not show a fracture as I cannot bear to continue to stay at home for so long a time because I am really fed up with being redundant!

Well I guess that I can say that this my leave is one that have been too eventful and extended.It is one leave too long.i am pray that it will end lest it becomes a source of stress to me too.

A Great Deliverance!

2008-05-14T09:42:00.003+01:00

By a great deliverance was my wife and I delivered from death when we hit a concrete structure for electric poles in the middle of the road and the car somersaulted.

We were coming from communion service that fateful Sunday night 10 days ago.It has just stopped raining and the driving was made worse by the full headlights of vehicles from the opposite side of the road.Moreover the road is such that at certain points,the central divide enlarges into the road such that you have to bend awy from your straight drive to avoid crashing into the concrete structures made for street lights that are not there.As we were coming home that fateful day,I couldn't see this point on time and drove straight on and crashed into the concrete structure and the car did some somersault.

Thank God that we were both wearing seat belts,we would probably have been six feet below the ground by now.People were there to help and we were lucky to have known faces who took good care of us and took us to the hospital.I sustained a sprain in my right ankle that is in a cast and my wife sustained some bruises on the right arm.

The pictures tell the story!

.............AND NOT MERELY THE ABSENCE OF DISEASE OR INFIRMITY.

2008-04-07T14:25:00.007+01:00

Hmm,
I have been away from this blog for so long that I really don't know where to start again.It is not as if I don't have things to say,but I guess I have been so disappointed in the happenings around me that I lost interest in writing on this blog.So what do we call that?Loss of interest in previous pleasurable activities?Talk about being depressed!
Really if one thinks of it,there are a thousand and one thing that can make one depressed in this country called Nigeria.From the things one reads on the pages of the newspapers and the interplay of such in ones personal life.Take for example,the recent resignation of the elsewhile minister of Health,Prof Adenike Grange who until her appointment as the minister of health was an erudite professor of Peadiatrics at the University of Lagos with many awards both local and international to her credit.However,she was swallowed up in the murky waters of the public life and the whimps and caprises of the ministry officials who are used to doing in a particular way called 'business as usual'.She was accused of not returning unused money in the last budgetary year in her ministry.Such was said to have been shared by top ministry officials.
So how does all these concern me or better still,what is the relevance to a blog like this.The answer is simple though it may not be obvious.
The recent events that led to a strike action by the Association of Resident Doctors,JUTH chapter can be traced back to the lackaidaisical attitude of public officials both in the Federal ministry of Health and the Budget office.It is no more news that the Federal Government approved of a new salary scale called Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Scale(CONTISS) brought out in January 2007.This generated a lot of protests and led to an addendum in March of the same year.However,upon the actual implimentation,the March addendum which was more favourable was ignored,an error which the Budget Office owed up to.However,one wonders what was the involvement of the Federal ministry of Health with the recent revelation of their corrupt practices.Moreover,if one even assumes that the mistake was geniuine without any maliciuos intent,it still speaks volume of the people at the helms of affairs who are supposed to have the welfare of the citizenry as their official duties and who are directly responsible for the implimentations of the welfare packages of government to her citizens.What is even more disturbing is the difficulty in getting appropriate authorities to listen to this injustice and getting such redressed!
With all the above,one is gradually losing faith in this society in which young professionals are not valued and are left frustrated by the insensitivities of the leadership.Let me say that a greater majority of medical doctors in Nigeria if given a second chance would not read medicine.They feel unappreciated,disrespected and violated.The medical doctor is assumed to be respested but has become the object of scorn given the lack of adequate renumeration!
Morales are at an all time low,most especially in my centre JUTH.Despite the fact that revelations of where the problem came was discovered,and promises were made to address the situation,we are still waiting for such as the problem is no more local but at the centre.i.e the Budget Office in Abuja!
Being a psychiatrist in training and knowing fully well that health is not just the absence of disease,but a state of complete physical,social and mental well being,one can comfortably say that we are not in a state of health.We are not socially and mentally well as it were!How then can one give his best in service delivery?How can a doctor who is not mentally well help others who are not physicallt well?It is high time our policy makers and leaders see thing wholistically rather than parocially.This will help them to improve the quality of life of the people and ensure whole health.
Being that as it may,the onous lies on every body to ensure his own well being in the face of adversities.On must ensure that his cognitive process is always on the positive note,otherwise one may lose his mind and fail to attain to his God-given potentials.

Happy New Year?

2008-02-02T15:38:00.000+01:00

Happy new year? You will ask.Well it is better late than never!
It is a new year,a new beginning and a time for new possibilities.
For the fact that my internet connection had been having problem for some time,and coupled with the festivity period,my birthday and Ist wedding anniversary in January,short pay in the implimentation of a new salary structure(CONTISS)which led to a drastic drop in my morale generally;I was not able to publish any post since Dec 4th,2007.
However,it is a new year,a new dawn and a time to shake away all lethargy,lukewarmness and break out like a new day.
There are a couple of activities that are likely to take place this year,both on a personal level for me and at the level of the stakeholders in the management of Mental health generally in Nigeria.As much as possible I will not relent in my effort to educate on mental health and advocate for mental health on this blog.One only hope that the efforts made by few individuals towards improving mental health awareness and to improve that overall level of mental health care can receive a boost by the appropriate authorities who should ochestrate a concerted effort to advance the cause.
Further more,one hopes that the mental health bill will be passed into law by the national assembly so that some of the old unpracticable laws will be changed into something more practicable and humane for the benefit of the mentally ill.

World Disability Day;The mental health perspective.

2007-12-04T04:27:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was the world Disability day,officially known as the International day for Disabled persons.It was set aside by the United Nations to promote awareness about the plight of disabled persons with the aim of improving their quality of life.

Disability has been described as any restriction or lack(resulting from an impairment)of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for an individual in his/her sociocultural setting.Impairment on the other hand is any loss or abnormality that of psychological,physiological or anatomical sructure or function,while an handicap is a disadvantage for a given individual,resulting from an impairment or a disability,that limits or prevents the fulfilment of a role that is normal(depending on age,sex and social and culural factors)for that individual.

From the foregoing,it is obvious that mentally illness leaves a lot of people with with impairments,disabilities and handicaps.It will therefore be a great mistake to just focus on on anatomical or even physiological impairment and resulting disability or handicap without given much attention to psychologigal ones.

In the area of mental health,most expecially when using the ICD-10 multiaxial system,the specific areas of functioning that are covered include;Personal care,occupation,family and household,functioning in a broader social context.
Let us expatiate a little on each one.
1.In the area of personal care,the following should be considered in the rating of disbility;
i)the person's activities concerned with the maintenance of personal hygiene and physical health(e.g washing,shaving,keeping clothes clean etc)
ii)eating habits(e.g regular meals,weight loss or gain etc)
iii)the person's maintenance of personal belongings and living space.

2.Occupation,refering to expected functioning in paid activities,studying,home-making,etc.
i)the person's conformity to the work discipline,
ii)the quality of his/her performance at work,
iii)his/her motivation in maintaining the occupational role.

3.Family and household;i.e participation in family life.
a.marital role
i)the person's communication with his/her spouse
ii)ability to show affection,
iii)the extent to which the person is felt by the spouse to be a source of support.
b.parental role
i)the basic tasks and activities undertaken by the person to ensure the health and security of the children,
ii)the closeness of their relationship and the depth of affection for and interest shown in the children's well-being and future,
iii)any abuse of the parental role or possibility of adverse effect on the children.
c.participation in household activities
i)the functions and duties of the person in maintaining the family as a viable social group;
ii)the manner in which the person carries out his/her roles in the family(e.g spouse father/mother,child)

4.Functioning in a broader social context;i.e in relation to community members,performance in leisure activities and other social activities.
i)response to the questions,requests and demands of people outside the household;
ii)readiness for coexistence on an 'impersonal' level(e.g colleagues,poeple in the bus or shops,etc)
iii)the person's manner with people outside the household whom he/she dislikes;
iv)the qulity and amount of contact with friends and non-household members;
v)the person's engagement in leisure activities outside the household.

From the above,it is clear that the extent of disability suffered by mentally ill individual could be enormous and it cuts across all the different facets of their lives.Efforts must be made therefore,to improve their quality of life and ensure that they are not neglected in the scheme of things.

Below are links of some WHO documents on disability.
http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA58/WHA58_23-en.pdf
http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA58/A58_17-en.pdf

APN 38th Annual Scientific And General Meeting;Organization of Mental Health Services in Nigeria

2007-11-29T17:01:00.000+01:00

The Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria(APN)held her 38th Annual Scientific And General Meeting recently at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital(LASUTH) with the above theme.The meeting was graced by seasoned Psychiatrists in Nigeria.It was another time more or less, to take stock of the state of affairs as it affects Psychiatric services and practice in Nigeria.

The Chief Medical Director of the host hospital, Dr Femi Olugbile delivered a paper with the theme as the topic i.e 'Organization of Mental Health Services in Nigeria.In his lecture,he commented on the need to boost the knowledge and skills of General practioners and family physicians as an important and first step towards bringing appropriate and effective treatment closer to Ngerian on Psychiatric problems.He further advocated the grouping of Mental illnesses as special category of sickness with a bid to facilitate the provision of free treatment for these category of patients.

Other very important highlights of his lecture include the fact that 1 in 5 roadside destitutes in Nigeria is due to psychosis or drug abuse.Furthermore,he shed light on the fact that the global burden of mental illnesses is such that it is near the top of list of global burden of diseases.Depression particularly causes more Disability Adjusted Life Years(DALYs) than most other illnesses known to man.He further declared that only 1 in 100 of Nigerians needing Psychiatric treatment seek for it in Nigeria.This is a feeler of the extent of awareness of mental illnesses and availability of Psychiatric services in Nigeria.Finally,it was pointed out that though psychotic cases tend to be very dramatic,the vaste majority of psychiatric cases tend to be subtle and invisible or unnoticeable.

It is hoped that the knowledge gained in this meeting is not going to be just for the sake of it,but is going to translate into the much needed education of the general populace about mental illnesses,as well as the organization of strong mental health advocacy groups.

Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Home;an update.

2007-11-29T16:52:00.000+01:00

I had earlier posted that the government of Plateau state is closing down the above named centre.I also asked what will happen to those patients in the place after the closure.Well the good news is that the state government is making effort to ensure that there is a ward for these folks at the Vom Christian Hospital where they are going to be managed for a period of about three months with all expenses of managing them being borne by the state government.It is hoped that by the end of this period,a good number of them would have made remarkable improvement as to be able to recollect their homes and relatives and effort will then be made to reunite them with their people.

You must agree with me that this is really nice on the part of the government.It shows a lot of commitment to service and the overall well-being and health of the people.However,after the expertion of these three month period,what happens.Although I have never been to the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Home,but I believe(from what I heard about the story of that place)that it could still be put at better use by the government if only they will re-organize the place and run it in collaboration with the department of Psychiatry,Jos University Teaching Hospital.Surely the state government can also help in that regard to boost up Mental Health facilities and services present in the state given the overstretched nature of the facilities in JUTH.

So,while I commend the government of Plateau state for this decision in the short term,I am appealing for a long term decision of establishing a Rehabilitation Centre in the State and further boost up Psychiatry facilites in the state.

In support of the movement:The Fight Against Child Abuse.

2007-11-25T20:09:00.000+01:00

I came across this blog entry recently and I could not just pass bye.I really wonder why someone would do such a thing?May God help us against such crimes against humanity.Please read on and lend support to the cause.

In our times of darkness, children are the ones who will brighten us up. No matter what ordeals we have to endure in our daily lives, we know that we can overcome them the moment we set eyes on children. Their innocence and purity in them will always give us a sense of peacefulness and calm that is beyond words. And it goes without saying that life would be meaningless without seeing them smile, hearing them laugh and cry, and feeling their small and flawlessly gentle hands that want to reach out to us.

Yet, there are some who show no empathy and sensitivity towards these beautiful souls. Worse still, they would dunk themselves into physical violence and cruelty towards the children without even thinking twice. Such acts can deem someone to be worse than an animal, because even an animal has compassion and love for its young.

What is going on with this world? Why must such horrid acts be carried out? Why do these people ever exist in this world?

Please take this time to read this special message from us, and show your utmost support and sympathy towards the family of the late Nurin Jazlin, who passed away tragically and brutally at the age of only eight. Little Nurin Jazlin’s body was discovered in a gym bag on 17th September, one month after she was abducted. Upon the discovery, she was seen to be in the most horrifying state ever. Her hair was short and curled up, when it was originally straight and long. Her body was pale and badly bruised from head to toe, and there were traces of foreign objects like brinjal and cucumber found in the virginal area of her body.

Parents of the deceased took a long time to acknowledge her death, but eventually did after all the thorough DNA tests had been carried out by the forensics department. Her body was finally buried on 21st September. Her father, Jazimin Abdul Jalil, had expressed his sorrow towards this tragedy, stating that whoever who caused her death was not a human being, but rather, an animal.

This was the result of an outrage of modesty (See Picture On The Right) caused by a man of age between 35 and 40, who was thought to be someone who enjoyed torturing people, particularly children. Along with him was a 23-year-old lady, who was apparently his partner in crime. The lady had been found and called for questioning by the Malaysian authorities, whereas the man has yet to be found. Hence, we are urging all of you here to play your part in finding this serial killer cum sexual offender and ensuring that justice is served to the deceased and her family.

If you know of the culprits’ whereabouts, keep us informed immediately, or directly inform her uncle, Jasni Abdul Jalil, via his blog, which he had specially created as a form of dedication to her.

Over the years, we have heard of children’s lives being taken away due to the evil doings of heartless adults. Nurin’s death was one of the most gruesome and tragic deaths that made many of us shocked, despaired and furious. Do you want more children to die in the hands of these sadistic people? Do you still wish to hear such saddening news of child abuse?Then let us do our part right away! Together we can make this world a better place for the little ones. Let us all join hand in hand and put a stop to such cruelty towards them once and for all! Fight against child abuse today.We have created a logo to show our support towards the fight against child abuse. If you would like to join in this movement, please copy and paste this article in your site and place the logo. After displaying this article, leave us a comment and we will add your link in our list of bloggers who have voluntarily helped us in this movement.

You can read the full article on the link below:
NAFASG©™: The Fight Against Child Abuse: A Tribute To The Late Nurin Jazlin (1999 to 2007): "The Fight Against Child Abuse: A Tribute To The Late Nurin Jazlin (1999 to 2007)"

Sports for mental health;The DATRC experience

2007-11-25T17:17:00.000+01:00

Last Wednesday at the Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre(DATRC),a white woman who is one of group of folks visiting the Vom Christian Hospital on vacation from the UK came into the unit with some sport equipments. She came with the sole purpose of teaching the patients or clients some of these games as well as to donate these equipments to the centre so that the patients may be playing it in their recreation time.

That day we all went out, both the patients as well as the staff, to learn what she called Quick Cricket. I had always watched with amazement when Cricket is played on the TV and I used to wonder what it was all about.Well,that day, I leant about the wicket, the bowler and the baton. I learnt how the game is counted i.e. the run. It is rather very interesting I must say, and I am now looking forward to watching a game of cricket on the T.V.Incidentally,Nigeria is not a cricket playing nation. I must sat that before now I never saw a game of cricket played live before. The same cannot be said of other games like Volley ball, Basket ball,Handball,Hockey and a host of other games which though not as popular as Football in Nigeria, nevertheless we are not totally ignorant of.

In order to consolidate on what we have learnt,we also had another round of games two days ago. This time there were two groups, with each group playing cricket and volley ball respectedly.As you must have guessed, I opted for cricket and this time discovered that I was rather better at bowling. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am really thinking now of how I can be playing the game on a regular basis in order to keep in shape and lose weight. It is rather more interesting and motivating than just jogging.

Apart from the above sentiments, the import of what these white folks did those days should not be lost on us. These people had left the comfort of their home and country to try and touch the lives of people in other lands. They are Christians who know that there are a whole lot of ways by which one can spread the love of Jesus. They have chosen to spread this love simply by teaching these patients how to play games and donating sporting equipments to the centre to promote the regular playing of the game. This surely is a way to touch peoples’ lives and leave an indelible mark in the heart.

Good Samaritan Rehabilitation home;matters arising.

2007-11-19T19:17:00.000+01:00

When I was going to the Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre that day,I had it in mind to update the histories of some of the patients whose histories were not clear enough for me to really appreciate the extent of their problems.However,I was only able to take a full history of just one of the patients. The patient I interviewed was really lucid in his descriptions of the problems and gave graphic illustrations of the episodes which led to his admission.

Just as I finished taking my history in a rough form and set about organizing it and putting it on paper,one of the clinical psychologists came in and we set at talking about his psychological assessments of some of the patients with special emphasis on the patient that I just finished seeing.

From there, our discussions shifted to a number of other general issues as it relates to the poor state of mental health facilities in Nigeria especially the fact that there are just a few psychiatric hospitals and departments and very few rehabilitation centres as well. We drifted to a recent announcement made by the government of Plateau state closing down the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation home located at Sabo Gidan Kanan Road,Bukuru,Jos.The announcement said that the home was involved in unorthodox and dehumanizing practices in the management of the mentally ill in the center.

From what I gathered, the place is under the authority of the State Ministry of women affairs and social development but it seems to have lost the supervisory functions due to the neglect by successive governments. However the Jang administration seems to be looking into all the different sections of the society with a bid to improve the quality of life on the Plateau and as such this center came under searchlight.

According to unofficial reports, there are about 29 mentally ill people in the center being managed by someone who is neither a doctor, psychiatrist or Psychiatric nurse. One wonders how such came to be and what qualifications this fellow has to put him in this position. The caliber of people in that home are more or less vagrant psychotic people who may not have anywhere else to go. It is reported that many of them were taken off the street by this fellow at the report of the host community. The category of people in the home include chronic schizophrenics, drug addicts and other people who may not be able to even locate their homes if they are made to go home.

There was the idea that this fellow running the home, whoever he may be saw a need and set at providing such in the absence of government input. Given that he may not be the best qualified to be doing this, but in a situation where the relevant agencies that are responsible and elected leaders that have sworn to defend the constitution and provide for the overall welfare of her citizens fail in their duties, then anybody will do it.

The issue is not that action should not be taking to right the wrong going on in that place, but the question is ;what happens to the patients if that place is closed and alternate provision is not made for them. If some of them were picked from the street and they don’t know where to go, do we then send them back to the streets? Given that the facilities of JUTH is already overstretched in serving about 5-6 states, how then do we accommodate the patients from that home.

This may be an opportunity for the government to demonstrate her commitment to the overall health of the people, both physical and mental. It will really go a long way to help if the government retain the use of that place,re-staff it appropriately and maybe have an arrangement with the Psychiatry department of JUTH to send residents for at least a weekly evaluation of the patients pending a full employment of a psychiatrist if the need be. It must be noted that the Psychiatric hospital Uselu has a similar facility at Mile-18 of the Benin-Lagos express road and it is adequately covered from the main hospital.

DRUG ABUSE;A MALADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGY.

2007-11-14T17:50:00.000+01:00

I was at the Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation center(DATRC) of the Vom Christian hospital today.It was really a time of revelations into some of the underlying problems of drug abuse and dependence.It had been said that drug abuse is only a symptom of a deeper problem in the life of a individual.

The Clinical Psychologist had earlier sometimes last week gave an assignment to everybody to write the benefit they derived from using whatever drug they were using.
For some reasons the patients just did not see any need in writing it but rather prefered to just talk about it.As a matter of fact,one of them said that he convinced the others against it because whatever they may have as benefit will surely be countered by the Psychologist.He really proved right the motive of the exercise as it was becoming as if the patients were just playing along with the Psychologists and whatever insight they think they have is just to play along and not coming from he inside.

Each individual introduced himself and the drugs they were abusing and what they believed they were benefiting from such.Among the answers giving include the following;
-A feeling of highness.
-To have courage and confidence to approach ladies.
-It gives inspiration
-To kill boredom in the face of unemployment.
-To lifts depression.
-To get strength.
-To be able to confront others.
-To improve appetite
-To get a calming effect.
-To manage anger.
-To be able to talk in public.
-To fill an emptiness within.

The striking point about all the above is that there is an underlying lack of self esteem and feeling of inadequacy,leading to a maladaptive coping strategy.The partinent thing therefore will be to address these inadequacies,change the thinking pattern of these individuals and give them an alternative and effective coping strategy that they can identify with.

It was an interesting session indeed and a couple of them seem to be well motivated already,being very outspoken that whatever benefit they think they derived from their drugs are not cogent reasons to continue because of the enormosity of what they have lost in terms of financial,social and physical well being.

A COMMITMENT TO MENTAL HEALTH,SERVICE AND EXCELLENCE.

2007-11-14T17:05:00.000+01:00

The department of Psychiatry,Jos University Teaching Hospital seems to be heading for a new lease of life.There had been calls in recent times to revamp the place in terms of the academic pursuits and structured programms that will make anybody that just strictly follow it come out with excellence.

Last week we held a meeting in which the head of department gave a lot of programms that are lined up for next year.Much of it boils down to the issue of advocacy and medical education for the community in which we are.If what we heard that day are coming to fruition,then we have a lot of activities on our hands next year.However we may start enjoying this from the latter part of this year as the H.O.D has extracted a promise from one of the past members of the department now practising abroad to come and give a guest lecture to the whole hospital community as well as to conduct some training sessions for the residents in the department.
The aim of all these is to make the quality of training in the department comparable to the best in any other center in the country.

Some of the programms that he highlighted that we might be having include;
-Workshop on substance abuse
-Workshop for teachers on mental health as well as substance use in school children.
-Workshop on incorporating mental health into primary health care.
-Quality of life in health and disease.
-Stress management in the work place
-A qurterly programm on T.V on mental health.
-Community mental health.

If all these are achieved, then the department is surely going to be a beehive of activities next year.And as might be expected,a lot is going to be expected of the residents in terms of coming up with quality work and materials to make a success out of all the above mentioned.

In another development,it was really a joyful thing that the candidate presented by the department at the part one examination of the National Postgraduate Medical college came out as the best candidate.This is really a thing of joy as departments of Surgery and Family Medicine produced the best candidates respectively at the same exam last year.It is high time Psychiatry also stood up and deliver.Sequel to this,our seminar presentations are proposed to be more vibrant in terms of content and delivery,there are going to be more clinical presentations as well as journal reviews.

With all the above in place we hope that very soon,we are going to be a reference for excellence in the country.Moreover our community and patients will be better for it.

OF CANNABIS USE AND MENTAL ILLNESS

2007-11-12T22:58:00.000+01:00

A couple of posts ago a reader of mine actually asked to know about the link
between cannabis and mental illness.I promised to give him as candid an
opinion as possible.I had been distracted by a couple of incidences since
then.However, seeing the patients on rehabilitation at the Vom Christian
hospital brought back my consciousness to my responsibilty of educating
the young one out there,who get into the habit of using drugs either by
curiousity or peer pressure only to set themselves on the part of
self-destruct.

There are evidences to the fact that cannabis use has a strong link to mental illness.The mental effect of cannabis can be grouped into the following;
1.Psychological effect such as panics,anxiety,depression and Psychosis.These are also called 'toxic' effects because they result from exccessive consumption of the drug.
2.The effect of cannabis as a risk factor for mental illness and its effect on pre-existing mental illness.
3.Dependency or withdrawal effects

Of need for further consideration is the association of cannabis with psychosis.The partinent question is ;did cannabis merely precipitate an underlying psychosis or is there a cannabis psychosis?
Cannabis use may precipitate a psychosis in the following ways;

1.Acute use of large doses of the drug may induce a toxic or organic psychosis with symptoms of confusion and hallucination, which remit on abstinence.

2.Cannabis use may lead to an acute functional psychosis, similar to an acute schizophrenia-like state and lacking the organic features of a toxic psychosis.

3.Cannabis use may lead to a chronic psychosis, which persists after abstinence.

4.Long-term cannabis use may lead to an organic psychosis which only partially remits after abstinence, leaving a residual deficit state, sometimes called an amotivational syndrome, which is thought to be analogous to the chronic organic brain syndrome seen after prolonged misuse of alcohol.

5.Cannabis use may be a risk-factor for serious mental illness such as schizophrenia.

There are also acute toxic psychotic symptoms like disorientation,impaired memory, confusion, reduced attention span and disordered thinking with labile effect and hallucinations. These symptoms may resolve within a week.

Another condition worth nothing is the ' amotivational syndrome’ described as personality deterioration with loss of energy and drive to work.

There is also a lot of arguement on whether cannabis worsens the symptoms of schizoprenia or not,but a lot of studies have confirmed that cannabis worsens positive symtoms of schizophrenia.

There is also the issue of dependence with all the social,psychological and financial sequelae and consequenses.
However,not all people who smoke cannabis will come down with any of the above mentioned.Other factors that influence the vulnerability to develop a mental illness include :
1.Age of the patient with the possibility increasing with the younger the patient is.
2.Use of other psychoactive substances.
3The personality of the patient.
4.The genetic pre-disposition.

In conclusion,there are overwhelming evidences to show that cannabis has a lot of psychiatric complications resulting from its use.

Drug Addiction Treatment And Rehabilitation Centre of the Vom Christian Hospital;A ray of hope for the addicted.

2007-11-12T21:59:00.000+01:00

I was at the Drug Addiction Treatment And Rehabilitation Centre of the Vom Christian hospital today.As I said yesterday,I will be having my posting there for the next 6-weeks.There were a total of 26 patients on admission,and because I and my colleague were seing them for the first time,we had to go into details in order to get to know them well.

There is a vaste variety of cases,but the most common were of people who were dependent on either alcohol,cannabis,nicotine or a combination of two or all of these.There was no one with dependence on things like cocaine or heroine because these are exotic and more expessive drugs.
There are some cases of frank psychotic disorders as well, including schizophrenia without any history of substance use,who got into the place one way or the other and there were also cases of schizophrenia with co-morbid substance use.But a good number of them have had their psychotic disorder cleared in JUTH before being refered there.Some also came directly there because it is not their first attempt at rehabilitation.

As must be expected from what I wrote in the last post,the majority of the patients were
dependent on alcohol.The extend to which alcohol is affecting people's lives can only be appreciated when one sees young people who otherwise would have been making academic,business and other forms of exploits wasting away.

Surely,the drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centre is a very appropriate and welcomed development given the fact that the Psychiatric department of JUTH is pressed for space and is largely a short stay hospital

One only hopes that there will be adequate provisions for follow up of these patients in other to consolidate on the gains achieved during their rehabilitation.I mean there is a strong need to form support and self groups for long term support in the mode of the popular Alcohol Anonymous(A.A)