One out of four Ghanaians has one mental illness or the other which concludes the fact that about 10 percent of the human population has one mental illness or the other, according to a psychiatric nurse at the Tamale Central Hospital (TCH) in the northern region, Isaac Borlu.
Mental illnesses, he noted, are into categories, which include depression, schizophrenia, phobia, and sexual disorders. Most mental illnesses, he stated, are caused by unknown chemical imbalances in the brain but there are factors that could result in one getting mental illness.
Some of these factors include encountering problems at the early stage of life, serious head injury, the use of illicit drugs, excessive consumption of alcohol, stress, disappointments, childlessness, loss of a loved one.
Physical illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria can also result in mental illness, if not properly handled. He urged the public to disregard the misconception that all mental illnesses are caused by evil spirits.
Mr Borlu advised the youth to desist from the use of illicit drugs and rather search for meaningful jobs to do in order to be productive for mother Ghana. He also encouraged people who have had accidents before to visit a psychiatric unit for proper brain examination, since it has the tendency of transforming to mental illness.
By: Lilian D. Walter
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