World Mental Health Day: Building a Culture of Psychological Safety

Written By Ajadi Michael Adewole

“Advocacy is an important means of raising awareness on mental health issues and ensuring that mental health is on the national agenda of governments. Advocacy can lead to improvements in policy, legislation and service development “

Mental health disorders are not uncommon, and the global burden of mental health disorders is projected to reach 15% by the year 2020. It is estimated that common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse‑related disorders, will disable more people than complications arising from AIDS, heart disease, accidents, and wars combined. This is an astonishing statistic and poses serious questions as to why mental health disorders are not given much more attention than it currently receives.

In Nigeria, an estimated 20%–30% of our population is believed to suffer from mental disorders. This is a very significant number considering Nigeria has an estimated population of over 200 million. Unfortunately, the attention given to mental health disorders in Nigeria is at best, fleeting; the level of awareness of the Nigerian public on mental health issues is also understandably poor, and the misconceptions regarding mental health have continued to flourish.

Mental health determinants

Adolescence is a crucial period for developing and maintaining social and emotional habits important for mental well-being. These include adopting healthy sleep patterns; taking regular exercise; developing coping, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills; and learning to manage emotions. Supportive environments in the family, at school, and in the wider community are also important.

Multiple factors determine the mental health of an adolescent at any one time. The more risk factors adolescents are exposed to, the greater the potential impact on their mental health. Factors that can contribute to stress during adolescence include; a desire for greater autonomy, the pressure to conform with peers, exploration of sexual identity, and increased access to and use of technology. Media influence and gender norms can exacerbate the disparity between an adolescent’s lived reality and their perceptions or aspirations for the future. Other important determinants for the mental health of adolescents are the quality of their home life and their relationships with their peers. Violence (including harsh parenting and bullying) and socio-economic problems are recognized risks to mental health. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to sexual violence, which has a clear association with detrimental mental health.

Disorders that include symptoms of psychosis most commonly emerge in late adolescence or early adulthood.

Some adolescents are at greater risk of mental health conditions due to their living conditions, stigma, discrimination or exclusion, or lack of access to quality support and services. These include adolescents living in humanitarian and fragile settings; adolescents with chronic illness, autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability or other neurological condition; pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents, or those in early and/or forced marriages; orphans; and adolescents from minority ethnic or sexual backgrounds or other discriminated groups.

Adolescents with mental health conditions are in turn particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, stigma (affecting readiness to seek help), educational difficulties, risk-taking behaviours, physical ill-health, and human rights violations.

Disorders that include symptoms of psychosis most commonly emerge in late adolescence or early adulthood. Symptoms of psychosis can include hallucinations (such as hearing or seeing things which are not there) or delusions (including fixed, non-accurate beliefs). Experiences of psychosis can severely impair an adolescent’s ability to participate in daily life and education.  In many contexts, adolescents with psychosis are highly stigmatized and at risk of human rights violations.

How Can Companies Do Better?

Looking at the private sector the Mental health is becoming the next frontier of diversity and inclusion, and employees want their companies to address it, Companies that want to improve the state of mental health at work especially for younger, diverse demographic groups need to adjust their strategies. it’s also a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issue and is slowly becoming its own category within (DEI) given its prevalence across all populations. At the same time, mental health needs to be looked at through an intersectional lens because of how much each person’s experience varies.

Investment in education and training is imperative, especially managers to learn how to name, normalize, and navigate mental health at work. Managers should have a baseline knowledge of tools they can use during difficult conversations and actions they can take to reduce the stigma, in addition to an understanding of mental health conditions, their prevalence and impact at work, and ways to recognize and respond to employees who may be struggling.

Companies that want to improve the state of mental health at work especially for younger, diverse demographic groups need to adjust their strategies.

The ability to support employees with a mental health condition and that includes most employees at one time or another is becoming a defining issue in the next-generation workplace. While progress is being made, much more needs to be done to destigmatize conversations and treatment. So far, the lack of organizational ownership and a reactive approach have failed to create work cultures in which employees feel safe speaking up.

The good news is that change is possible. It starts with acknowledging the equal prevalence of mental health conditions from the C-suite to the front lines, changing organizational culture, introducing proper training and support, and addressing mental health as a standalone DEI issue. CEOs must lead by example as both the priority and culture setters of their companies. That said, every employee has a role to play as well. Culture change of any kind requires top-down and bottom-up support. Mental health is no different.

CONCLUSION

It is a sincere hope that these pronouncements are backed up with the required action so that the country develops and implements both a policy and legal framework for addressing mental health issues. It has become pertinent that mental health is part and parcel of primary health care and not merely an afterthought added to other health issues which are viewed as more important. Mental disorders have been largely overlooked as part of strengthening primary care. This is despite the fact that mental disorders are found in all countries, in women and men, at all stages of life, among the rich and poor, and in both rural and urban settings.

It is crucial to address the needs of adolescents and youths with defined mental health conditions. Avoiding institutionalization and over-medicalization, prioritizing non-pharmacological approaches, and respecting the rights of children in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights instruments are key for adolescents.

In addition, it is necessary to undertake the widespread education of the Nigerian public on the recognition of mental health disorders as a disease and the need for societal and family support and the avoidance of stigmatization of people suffering from mental health disorders.