The Chief Executive Officer of Kayrom Lee Gym and Fitness Centre and the Iyalaje Adini of Oyo, Ambassador Rahmat Romoke Ayinde, has urged Muslims to prioritize their health status and guide against depression.
She further urged them to speak out and seek medical attention when depressed.
Alhaja Romoke stated this during a leadership-training course organized by the National Council of Muslim Youths Organizations (NACOMYO), Oyo State chapter at the Sunnah Mosque, NACOMYO Centre, Sanyo, Ibadan over the weekend.
Amb. Romoke further revealed that mental health is a global issue that is not limited to certain people, group, tribe and religion while urging them to take the issue of mental health seriously.
She said, “We should not stigmatize when an illness has something to do with the brain. Many people are believed to be educated but their knowledge is limited about mental illness or mental disorders. In their ignorance, they call people who suffer from mental disorder as mad people. They direct accusing finger at the village people for the cause”.
The Iyalaje Adini further revealed that depression is the major cause of mental health among Nigerians while urging Muslims youths to seek medical advice when depressed.
She added, “The magnitude of the quantity of depression as a mental illness in Nigeria is great. Poverty is in vogue due to economic crunch and it calls for an urgent solution. The economic situation of the country has not favoured the mental health of the people. The severity of the economic crunch tells really on many Muslim homes”.
She further revealed that having unexplained pains, pulling away from people, experiencing severe mood swings among others are signs of mental health problems.
Read the full text below:
COMMON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AFFECTING MUSLIMS.
A PAPER DELIVERED BY AMBASSADOR ROMOKE AYINDE, THE IYALAJE ADINI OF OYO STATE AND THE C.E.O. KAYROM LEE NIGERIA LIMITED, AT THE 1445 (2023) LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE ON FRIDAY 29TH DECEMBER, 2023 ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSLIM YOUTHS ORGANISATIONS (NACOMYO), OYO STATE CHAPTER AT THE SUNNAH MOSQUE, NACOMYO CENTRE, SANYO, IBADAN BY 10:00AM.
PREAMBLE
Loneliness was first observed of the first human being (man) created by Allah (SAWT). Man was rescued from loneliness by being allowed into companionship with the creation of woman. He was able to interact with his fellow human being, which made a way for him to overcome what could have been a psychological torture. The co-habitation averted whatever stress or depression. Wherever there is peace of mind, development for the good is accelerated.
Unfortunately, human beings missed it big time when they ate the avalanche of a kind of particular fruit warned against. The disobedience led to certain cognitive process in them. They went against the command of the Almighty Allah (SAWT) and started to behave and think they can be equal to Allah (SAWT) their Creator.
Nigeria is a great country so much blessed by Allah (SAWT). The Giant of Africa, blessed with both human and natural resources, so blessed that we need not entertain any fear or problem. May I ask, “What is your feeling towards what we experience today in this our beloved country, Nigeria, of today?” Are you impressed, oppressed or depressed?
I am here, not as a political analyst neither a politician but in line with the motive of the 1445 (2023) LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE organised by NACOMYO (OYO STATE CHAPTER). I have come as a devout Muslim with specialization in Gym and Fitness. To my credit are the books, HEALTHY LIVING and BAYONET POVERTY (GUN ISE PA) that I authored to back up my experience. On this wealth of experience, I shall weave my Lecture of today to find some solutions to Mental Health challenges.
A leader is a Solution Provider. A leader solves people’s problems. He solves community problems. You cannot be a Problem Solver and be neglected, ignored, abandoned and be treated as a nonentity. Leaders are raised and cannot be erased. Kudos to NACOMYO for knowing how important leaders are to a society for taking it upon itself to raise the leaders that cannot be erased. May Allah (SAWT) reward your good deeds.
I have come as requested for a lecture on COMMON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AFFECTING MUSLIMS. I will not proceed into the lecture until I have given glory and honour to whom it is due.
SALUTATIONS
ASSALAMUALAIKUM WARAMOTULAI WABARAKATU (RESPONSE)
In giving thanks to Almighty Allah (SAWT), let us say three (3) times, ALIHAMIDULAHI and crown it with ROBILIALAMIN. (RESPONSE).
It is Allah’s mercy that has brought us all here today so I praise Allah, TEKBIL! (RESPONSE).
I thank Allah (SAWT) for Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who He sent to all we Muslims to know His way and worship Him alone, Allah, the God of heavens and the universe. TEKBIL! (RESPONSE).
Also, may I use this opportunity to appreciate and recognize everyone here present, and at the same time, greet specially everyone worthy of note.
(Protocols)
THE LECTURE
Shall we go into the Lecture proper. AWUSUBILAI MINASHEITAN ROJIMI. I start in the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. The lecture is titled, COMMON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AFFECTING MUSLIMS. Mental Health is a mankind or global issue. It is not limited to certain people, group, society, tribe, religion or sect. There are different mental health issues of which some are common. My mission is to make my Muslim brothers and sisters to have the awareness. By being aware of, a muslim will know what steps to take to prevent or manage. By definition, when something is common, it can mean, one, “of the best known or most frequently seen kind; two, “occurring or appearing frequently, that is, FAMILIAR”; and three, known to the community at large, that is, the PUBLIC.”
USE OF WORDS
May I advise that we be careful with how we use words whenever we talk. As light as the words we use are, they are equally weighty, serious and important. We should not stigmatize when an illness has something doing with the brain. Many people are believed to be educated but their knowledge is limited about Mental Illness or Mental Disorders. In their ignorance, they call people who suffer Mental Illness or Mental Disorder “Mad”. They direct accusing finger at the village people for the cause. Sometimes you hear them say, “Na drug turn him head o!” or “O TI MU ‘GBO!” Is this really what Mental Illness or Mental Health is all about?
MENTAL HEALTH
Although I am not completely into the medic neither did I specialize in Psychiatry but what I do tilts towards that line as a Physical Fitness Specialist and Stress Manager. What is Mental Health? The direct and comprehensible answer is that, “it is a level of psychological well-being, or absence of mental disorder.” To explain further, Mental Health is, “the psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment.”
Going by some other schools of thoughts, mental health may include an individual’s ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. According to World Health Organization (WHO) which is an organ of the United Nations (UN) mental health includes “subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one’s intellectual and emotional potential, among others.” The WHO goes ahead in explaining that the well-being, that is mental health, of an individual is encompassed in the realization of their abilities, coping with normal stresses of life, productive life and contribution to their community.
There are many other definitions or ways to explain Mental Health. This is informed by cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories. To simplify the explanation further, mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also determines how we handle stress, relate it to others, and make choices. Mental Health must be taken seriously. It is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
MENTAL ILLNESS
It is time to talk about Mental Illness. Many Film Producers have produced films or videos on Mental Illness depicting it in an unacceptable way. Many here present must have seen or watched such films and videos. Individuals make jokes about people being crazy or nuts, when such individual should have a sober reflection. Yoruba people say, “ENI TI KO BA TI BI OMO TAN, KO GBODO FI ALARUN OPOLO SE YEYE.” (Meaning: Anyone who is still into child-bearing should not make mockery of one who is mentally ill.) With the exposure, do people really understand or know what Mental Illness is? Many of our preconceptions are incorrect. Nobody knows who is next. I pray Allah (SAWT) give us good mind and sound health always.
Going into the explanation, a Mental Illness can be defined as, “a health that changes a person’s thinking, feelings, or behaviour (or all three) and that causes the person distress and difficulty in functioning.” As with many diseases, mental illness is severe in some cases and mild in others. Individuals who have a mental illness don’t necessarily look like they are sick, especially if their illness is mild. Other individuals may show more explicit symptoms such as confusion, agitation, or withdrawal.
Obviously, with the cases of Mental Illness by the forms (mild and severe) it manifests, it suggests that there are many different mental illnesses which include:
(1) Depression
(2) Schizophrenia
(3) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
(4) Autism, and,
(5) Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.
Each illness alters a person’s thoughts, feelings and, or behaviours in distinct ways.
DIFFERENTIATION OR CLARIFICATION
At this juncture, for clarity sake, not all brain diseases are categorized as mental illnesses. Disorders such as:
(1) Epilepsy
(2) Parkinson’s Disease, and,
(3) Multiple Sclerosis
They are brain disorders, but are considered NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES rather than MENTAL ILLNESS. It is just that there is thin line between Mental Illnesses and these other Brain Disorders in term of differentiation.
DEPRESSION
The most common of the Common Mental Health Issues is DEPRESSION. It is affecting all mankinds and not only Muslims. But Muslims must be equipped for precaution. The magnitude of the quantity of Depression as a Mental Illness in Nigeria is great. Poverty is in vogue due to Economic Crunch. It calls for an urgent “solution to a problem.” Depression which has true bearing to the situation of the country and people’s experience, more especially Muslims, will now be defined.
WHAT IS DEPRESSION?
The condition of many in the situation they have found themselves in today’s Nigeria, without putting words together for description, mere looking at them, is a realistic definition of Depression. But putting words together as expected of an Academic, “Depression,” is defined as “the mental state in which you are sad and feel that you cannot enjoy anything because your situation is so difficult and unpleasant.”
Another definition is that, “Depression is a time when there is very little economic activity, which causes a lot of unemployment and poverty.” With this second definition, you can now see the reason why I wrote one of my books and titled it, BAYONET POVERTY (GUN ISE PA). How can anyone be poverty-stricken and live healthy as I have proffered in my book, FUNDAMENTALS OF HEALTHY LIVING?
Truly, the economic situation of the country has not at all favoured the Mental Health of the people. The severity of the economic crunch tells really on so many Muslim homes. It is a lazy man who sees work but refuses to work that must not eat. With the situation of things at the moment, what makes the difference with a hardworking man who cannot make ends meet but wallowing in abject poverty. There is no difference. Depression catches up with him faster than a lazy man who at no time had no feeling of responsibility. How can poverty that makes him, a hardworking person, depressed!
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
There are some factors that contribute negatively to people’s mental health. These factors include:
(1) Biological Factors, such as genes or brain chemistry;
(2) Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse;
(3) Family history of mental health problems;
It should be noted that Mental Health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely. Even, the blacks have been recognized, world-wide, better in the treatment and management of psychiatric cases.
SIGNS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
There are some feelings or behaviours that can be early warning signs of Mental Health problems. They are:
(1) Eating or sleeping too much or too little;
(2) Pulling away from people and usual activities;
(3) Having low or no energy;
(4) Having unexplained aches and pains;
(5) Feeling helpless and hopeless;
(6) Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual;
(7) Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared;
(8) Yelling or fighting with family and friends;
(9) Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships;
(10) Having persistent thoughts and memories you cannot get out of your head;
(11) Hearing voices or believing things that are not true;
(12) Thinking of harming yourself or others; and
(13) Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work late or school.
MENTAL WELL-BEING
What is Mental Well-being? Actually, there is no consensus around a single definition of Mental well-being. However, we can’t but agree that Mental Well-being is, feelings of contentment, enjoyment, confidence and engagement with the world, including self-esteem and self-confidence. And so are relationships, which bring joy to you and those around you. Of course, good Mental Well-being does not mean that you never experience feelings or situations that you find difficult. But it means that you feel you have the resilience (the strength or willpower to fight back) to cope when times are tougher than usual. Mental Well-being can take many different forms, but a useful description is feeling good and functioning well.
With different researches carried out by reputable researchers from different disciplines, aspects of well-being include the following:
(1) Physical well-being;
(2) Economic well-being;
(3) Social well-being;
(4) Development and activity;
(5) Emotional well-being;
(6) Psychological wellbeing;
(7) Life satisfaction;
(8) Domain specific satisfaction; and
(9) Engaging activities and work.
THE MAJOR CAUSE OF INCREASE IN MENTAL ILLNESS
There is no nation that is not confronted with the issues of Mental Health. Actually, Mental Illnesses exist. The ratio in the increase in nations differs. Common Mental Issues are more pronounced, especially, in countries that its people are poverty stricken. In many developed countries, the needs of their citizens have been provided for by the government to at least seventy percent (70%). The citizens have less psychological problem or trauma. The problem of Mental Illnesses is drastically reduced. Their citizens think less. Mental Illness is on the increase, in the developing countries, because people lack. People do not just lack or are poor but poverty-stricken. Poverty affects poor and developing nations, contributing to the largest percentage of the increase in Mental Illnesses. Yoruba bo wonnni, “BI EBI BA KURO NINU ISE, ISE BU SE. Poverty is what results in Depression as Common Mental Health Issue affecting Muslims in this dispensation. If the Government is no more up to the task, let Jamma who are well-to-do come to the rescue by giving assistance to the less-privileged Muslims.
CONCLUSION
Having said all these about mental Health, I will like to say by way of conclusion that poverty should be reduced or eradicated among the people. Every well-to-do devout Muslim must see it a necessity to lift fellow Muslims out of poverty level. It must be seriously addressed. If those we call Honourable Members are no more honourable, don’t let us who gather as Religious Members calling the name of Allah be HORRIBLE MEMBERS. Poverty brings sorrow in life. Sadness is not for human beings. The effects of poverty on the society leads to increase in Mental iIlnesses, more especially Depression. Therefore, let the life of fellow human beings be made better.
Common Mental Health Issues Affecting Muslims is a battle of all-hands on deck. I appreciate NACOMYO, OYO STATE CHAPTER for this choice topic for the 1445 (2023) LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE on advocacy for Mental Health. The choice of every individual should be a sound health with Mental Well-being. As individuals, you need to stay healthy, so, I recommend Singing, Dancing, Fasting, Smiling and Laughing, Trek and Exercise, Reduce your Weight, as a form of Stress Management. Don’t just visit the Gym, register with a Gym and get an Instructor attached to you.
Lest I forget. Although, it may sound somehow and, even, funny but it is the truth. Have Sex with your spouse. It is a confirmation of the true love and companionship a couple has. A psychological understanding and the trust in selves. Yoruba bo won ni, “EYELE KII BA ONILE JE, BA ONILE MU, KI O WA DI OJO KAN IPONJU KI O YE ‘RA.” Let us learn how to offer our shoulders and be our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. I assure you that things will get better soonest for us all. Avoid being depressive. O NBO WA DA LAGBARA OLORUN. INSHA ALLAH.
May I thank you for this rare opportunity to deliver a paper as this on a day as this. Thank you very much. MA SALAM.
