Psychotrauma and mental health

Abstract

Psychotrauma often come in the context of catastrophic disasters like war, terrorism and natural tragedy. Hence, psychotrauma is a mind wound that affect the overall wellbeing of individual or significant others in such individual’s life. Nigeria, like other parts of the world continues to have an increase in occurrence of catastrophes and subsequently, psychotraumas. Psychotraumas of recent occurrence in Nigeria are the militancy, kidnapping and Ebola outbreak in the south, and insurgency and terrorism in the north. Nigerian Studies on psychotraumas identified high prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (41-42%)3,6 compared to the almost non-existence of PTSD in the non-exposed Nigerians. The prevalence in exposed Nigerians is higher than in those exposed outside Africa (1-36%).4,8 These are pointers to the huge burden of the psychological distresses experienced by exposed Nigerians. This burden is not likely to decrease soon because mental health professionals are not only in short supply, but there is also no psychotrauma center/agency to take up this challenge. The IMAN Medical Journal has a few suggestions on the way forward that might address these.