Health
How Nigerians can stay mentally strong despite hardship — Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists advised Nigerians to adopt healthy coping strategies to protect their mental well-being when distress becomes overwhelming amid the country’s prevailing economic realities.
They urged Nigerians to seek support from trusted family members and friends, maintain regular sleep routines, engage in physical activity, and seek professional help promptly.
The psychiatrists stressed that recognising early warning signs and accessing appropriate mental healthcare are essential to protecting mental wellbeing despite the country’s economic challenges.
The experts made the call while speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise to commemorate World Mental Health Day 2026, themed “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change.”
World Mental Health Day is commemorated on October 10 every year to raise global awareness, fight social stigma, and mobilise support for mental health care.
The World Health Organisation defines mental health as a state of the well-being of every individual, in which case the individual can realise or attain their potential, face normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to society.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Dr Sunday Amosu, advised Nigerians to protect their mental health despite economic hardship.
“No doubt, the current economic hardship, rising poverty, and the cost of food, transportation, and even healthcare are increasing. Basic necessities, including paying our children’s school fees, are becoming more expensive. All these can put an enormous burden on our mental health and affect our well-being,” he said.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that many households are battling high living costs and struggling to feed, while some have turned their offices into homes because of high transport costs.
For many families, a larger portion of their income now goes into basic needs such as food and transportation, with little money left for savings, emergencies, healthcare or other needs.
But Amosu said despite the prevailing realities, Nigerians should not allow the situation to place enormous pressure on their mental well-being.
He warned that the financial burden of meeting family responsibilities, including paying children’s school fees, could trigger anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, irritability and family conflicts.
To manage the psychological burden of economic hardship, Amosu urged Nigerians to acknowledge their emotions rather than pretend to be happy when they were struggling.
He encouraged people to communicate their difficulties to trusted family members, spouses and supportive friends, noting that acknowledging the problem was an important step towards finding ways to cope with it.
“Let people know that you are going through something. Acknowledge that this situation exists. Acknowledge to your spouse that you need help. Acknowledge the situation again and see what you can do better. So, we must acknowledge our feelings,” he said.
Amosu also advised Nigerians to concentrate on circumstances they could control, particularly their spending habits and household budgets, while accepting that some challenges might not be immediately changeable.
He urged families to distinguish between essential and non-essential expenses, prioritising food and shelter over social obligations and avoidable spending, including impulse purchases.
“We must be realistic when trying to manage those things. We must focus on the things we can control. We can control our budget. We can control how much we spend on our children’s schooling. We can change schools if we need to. We also need to set our priorities right. Our priority should not be Aso Ebi anymore. Our priority should be food and shelter,” he said.
The psychiatrist further recommended regular physical activity, suggesting that Nigerians should aim for 20 to 30 minutes of walking daily and take short movement breaks when they have been sitting for extended periods.
“Maintain a healthy daily routine. Maintain a healthy diet routine also. So, maintain a healthy routine that will help you have a structured life,” he said.
He also advised Nigerians to maintain relationships with supportive people and participate in communities where they could share their experiences and learn from others who had faced similar challenges.
Amosu recommended relaxation, prayer and meditation as ways to manage tension, while urging people to limit their exposure to distressing reports on traditional and social media when such content worsened their emotional state.
He encouraged Nigerians to develop useful skills and explore realistic ways to improve their income, while cautioning against taking on family or workplace responsibilities beyond their capacity.
“You cannot solve everybody’s problems; you are not God; you are not Muhammed or Jesus,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to avoid making financial promises they lacked the means to fulfil and learn to handle their responsibilities one at a time.
The psychiatrist advised people, particularly young adults, to avoid comparing their financial circumstances with those of others, explaining that differences in family backgrounds and levels of parental support could create unnecessary pressure.
“For younger people, stop comparing yourself with other people so that you do not put yourself under an unnecessary burden. You don’t have the same background as them. There are some people who are fully employed and still have their parents buying cars for them. They have parents who still send money to them.
“And on your part, if you’re the ones sending money to your parents, you can’t compare yourself with such a person who still has parental support; you will just be putting yourself under unnecessary financial pressure that will become a mental burden,” he said.
Speaking on the warning signs of declining mental health, the psychiatrist identified changes in sleeping patterns as one of the earliest indications that a person might need support.
He explained that people should be concerned when they begin to struggle to fall asleep, wake up in the middle of the night and find it difficult to return to sleep, or spend long periods tossing and turning while worrying about their circumstances.
Amosu added that losing interest in activities that previously brought happiness, withdrawing from friends and avoiding social interactions could also indicate that someone was experiencing emotional distress.
The psychiatrist warned that people should not ignore such changes until they develop more serious symptoms, adding that recognising the early signs and responding promptly could help prevent a person’s mental health from deteriorating further.
Also, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Jos, Plateau State, Taiwo Obindo, urged Nigerians to remain hopeful, saying that being hopeful for positive change remains one of the important coping mechanisms during economic hardship.
“The major one is to resort to hope. People should be hopeful that this tide will change and things will turn around,” he said in an earlier interview.
He urged Nigerians against resorting to substance abuse as a coping mechanism, while recommending humour as a positive way to get by.
“You should avoid the use of substances. We should also see the funny side of things. We can use humour to handle some things. Don’t take things to heart; laugh it off.
“There are some chemicals in the body that are released when you laugh. Nigerians should embrace humour because it’s one of the good ways to handle stressful situations.
“Laugh things off and look at the positive side of things so you do not allow situations to overwhelm you. That helps a lot. Your faith must also be strong in whatever you believe in, that God can change situations. Your spiritual inclination can help in coping. Never resort to the use of substances, no matter what the situation is. It has never helped, and it will not help,” he said.
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