Culture-related mental illness Continued .... Nevertheless, the older generations expect their wards to achieve academic and socio-economic success in the emerging modern society and these parental expectations constitute the emotional pressure on them. Brain fag is usually characterised by bothering sensations on or in the head and body, especially aches, burning and crawling; visual disturbances, especially blurred vision and tears when reading; impaired concentration, difficulty in comprehending and retaining learning material in written or oral presentation, feelings of general weakness, dizzy spells and daytime fatigue. This brain fag may actually explain the reason some Nigerians who travelled abroad in the early 1960s did not complete their education and had to withdraw from the university while we claim that they had been called home using traditional spiritual methods. During the military era and the attendant harsh economic and insecurity situations, “genital shrinking,” usually associated with transient state of acute anxiety, some physical symptoms and penile retraction. The females may complain of shrinking of the breasts. Usually associated with fears of impotence or sterility and death in some cases, they are traceable to the predominant thought of magic robbing or bewitchment. Such cases should be referred to mental health experts, as these symptoms will temporarily remit with appropriate medications. However, for effective management, there is a need for synergy with the relevant culturally sensitive healing procedures. Paradoxically, our cultural beliefs are being eroded by foreign religious practices, albeit retaining basic cultural vestiges such as the use of anointed holy water, oil, handkerchiefs and the touch of a spiritual leader. Other mental illnesses may benefit from this approach, if properly articulated.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 08:45:08 +0000
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