 Okay, there is the saying that we like to use all the time that the youths are leaders of tomorrow, but when that tomorrow is bleak because our teenagers are diagnosed more and more with depression and other mental health problems then there's a problem. So we're going to be looking at this topic. More Nigerian teenagers diagnosed with depression and other mental health problems and our guest this morning is Dada Oluwatosin, the Chief Nursing Officer at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. Good morning and welcome to the program. Okay, Manos maybe attending to a mental case right now. That's just a joke out of the way now. But we'll be talking with her. It's a worrisome thing that a lot of times we find youths on the streets, some of them are just roaming. Some of them are really, I don't know the word to use. I'm not allowed to use a word that is now their gateway, but they have mental problems. Some people are depressed and you don't even know that they are depressed. They are walking, they are smiling, they are laughing. They are mixing up with friends sometimes, but some other times they are on their own and they were finding the symptoms, but we need to all care. We will find out what the causes of these mental problems and depressions are and how we can profile solutions to them, whether through policy or drug or any other form of support. We'll be talking with Dada Oluwatosin, the Chief Nursing Officer in Ikeja Teaching Hospital. And as soon as we are able to reconnect with her, we will do that. For now, we'll just take a very short break. We'll be back. Okay, we're glad to know you're still there. We sincerely apologize for the little heat that we had. We're back now with Dada Oluwatosin, Chief Nursing Officer at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja. We're talking about mental health this morning. Once again, good morning and welcome to the program. Good morning, Professor. Good morning. Okay, we say more Nigerians, teenagers, diagnosed with depression, other mental health problems. That is a worrisome thing. Let's just begin with causes of these depression, if you may. Good morning one more time. Before we begin to talk about the causes of depression, let me briefly define what depression itself is. Depression is a state of extreme sadness that is in which we describe that there is loss of interest in pleasurable activities. That is those things that the individual that is affected by depression, those things the person would have done with joy, with all heartache, they just lose interest in doing them. And well, according to World Health Organization, they defined depression as a state of extreme sadness characterized by loss of interest in pleasurable activities, lasting more than six weeks. Having explained this, we want to talk about the causes of depression. Depression itself has various causes. When we talk about the biological causes, we are talking about the dopamine serotonin factor in the brain. We want to talk about stress. That is issues of life, loss of loved one, bereaved men, and things like that. But because we are talking about teenagers today, one of the things that would cause depression in them now is because they have growing awareness as a result of having a lot of information about their mental health. That could be a cause. Then we want to talk about academic pressure in which we discover that these children, more and more times they are being sent to school when they are not fully prepared for the challenges ahead. So to say that you now find a child of nine years old in secondary school, by the time they are 13, 14, they want to, they are out of the secondary school. They have not really concretized their, they have not really developed their complete states before we move them to their abstract states. And as a result of this, many are times they are not able to cope with the academic stress itself. Then we want to look at dysfunctional family. When we talk about dysfunctional family, we are talking about absent parents in which we discover that the parents are not just there. The father is out, the children rarely get to see them. They don't have anybody to talk to. And when they have questions that bother their mind, the only thing they want today is just to go to social media and find information. And at times they talk to their friends, their peer groups, many at times they are misled by this. Then the negative impact of the current situation of the nation itself who adversely affects their mental health, these are many more who cause depression in Nigerian Senators nowadays. Okay. This topic is on depression and generally on mental health problems. You made a comment about one of the causes being that these children go to school too early if I got you right. Are you saying, okay, what is the actual age that a child should be before that child can be taken to school or a particular level of school? Because nowadays, maybe because the parents are busy or whatever excuse they give, children six months, as early as six months, are taken to the crash from there, they move to the nursery school, from nursery school to no breathing space at all. Even during holidays, they have lessons here and there and all that. So you just made a point and I'm wondering, is this really a bad thing? And if it is bad, what is their recommendation, especially the recommended school age for nursery, then primary, secondary, if we have those? Good. We are looking at, when we talk about the recommended entry point for children in primary school, the recommended age is between two and three years. The recommended age for them to enter primary school. But when we want to talk about when we want, by the time they are entering primary school, they should be five. And by the time they are leaving secondary school, you mean two to three for nursery school, that's how I understand it. When we talk about nursery school, let's look at age two to three. Two to three is their appropriate age. Then by the time they are done with their nursery school, entering primary school, they should be close to five, between five and six. Normally, by the time they are going to leave the secondary school to secondary school, they should be between eleven and twelve. That's why you see some institutions stipulated specifically that that child should be twelve, eleven years of age by October. That means September, October, by the time they are resuming back for another academic session. In legal states, legal states will not allow any child who is less than eleven to enter GS1, except if there is falsification of age where the parent will now go and swear a bit of bingo a false bet certificate for that child. But on the parent's part, all we look at is our own selfish interest. Of course, I won't call it selfish because many times we look at it that we have to make ends meet, forgetting that this children mental state is equally more important. So the time when now sending them to school, they are not able to cope very well. They are not able to cope effectively with their peers. Somebody who is eleven, twelve, will be better to be resumed before five friends from the west or one who enlightened will be resumed. And that's where the conflict and abstract thinking comes in. By the time they are supposed to be ready for their abstract thinking likewise, they will not be there. And when this begin to happen the child is not doing academically. There is low self-esteem because he or she begins to look at himself or herself that what my mates are doing I am not able to do. Now back to the parents at home who are paying so much to fix that child in school. They begin to make various judgmental statements and also child names. All these things has an impact on the health of that child. Now what we talk about other mental health problems too. We want to put in schizophrenia and all this, we want to put schizophrenia there. When we get to put schizophrenia, those wounds when somebody is even depressed they are able to cope because at some point in time there is remission of symptoms. In schizophrenia too there will be remission of symptoms. But schizophrenia, a schizophrenic patient cannot be compared to somebody who is depressed. Schizophrenia can render an individual as in I don't want to use the word invalid now. That person can not even at times be used to to himself talk less contributing to his own activities of daily living. But in person with depression when we talk about mild to moderate depression they are still able to cope with psychotherapy with medications they are able to cope. Schizophrenia too does, but then you cannot compare the rate of their the rate at which they get better you cannot compare it with schizophrenia. Let me just ask you this maybe I don't know how it would sound but does this crease for nannies for people, some other people to take care of our children also contribute to mental health of the children because a lot of mothers leave their responsibility to house helps and all that children don't get to see their own mothers and so there is some kind of disconnect. Do you think it also contributes in some way to the mental health of a child? Yes, it contributes greatly greatly it contributes a child who is six months old and you have to take to a nanny or you employ the nanny to take care of that child one there is no bonding between that child and the mother. The only mother figure that the child would be seeing would be the nanny and what helping that mother or parents the nanny now happens to be agree that child we hear lots on internet where various forms of sexual abuse child abuse comes in. When all these are integrated into a child right from their toddler group it goes a long way to affect them later in life so living a child with a nanny might not really be in the best interest of that child but be curious of the way the economy is now well parents don't have much option than to do that but then to some extent the mental health of that child will be affected somehow except the parents are able to compensate for those period that they were not present with that child and how can they compensate for this by spending enough time no time to be enough for you to spend with your child but any time you are with that child period memorable for them make it leave a lasting impact on them that you will not know the truth they have the appearance okay well we are running out of time but we need to cover some points here now I know you the experts have always said wrong use of drugs is another point that leads to mental health issues and depression all that but let's cut to the solutions what do you think by way of policy that government can do to help reduce this stress or this scourge and then also what can the individuals do to help to reduce this problem of mental health and depression let's start with the government let's start with the government if the government can just formulate a policy number one stating precisely the age at which they want a child they enter points into schools for children and they actually make it work that will help so the issue of people just entering pharmacies chemists buying medication although they have been able to put some law into practice but then because they will tell you when you get to some hospital they will tell you without a prescription you cannot get a particular medication but all these ones when you have your money there is nothing you cannot get in Nigeria prescription or no prescription so the government should still help us to look in that direction then back to the parent who would encourage when a woman is pregnant we always advocate that they should please start their antenatal clinic promptly then we wait till they are 5 6 months before they start their antenatal care but usually we tell them once a woman discovers that you are pregnant you can just walk into the hospital and tell them you want to register although in some government hospitals in health centers someone once said that they will tell them to wait till 3 months but then they should please do something about it once a woman is pregnant the first 3 months we always advocate for folic acid if they take this medicine this folic acid is something you can easily get you take it religiously and when you take folic acid what it does essentially is it prevents a problem in a child that we call neuro tube defects it prevents such things from happening to the fitters in you too so when those drugs are being taken and you start your antenatal clinic early enough they are able to see deviations from normal and appropriate measures are being taken then the government will really help with the 6 months maternity leave the game although they told us it is just for the first 2 children but then it is enough time for a woman to bond with a child because it is their developing years so with this I think apparently to show understand at this point that the mental health of their children is far far more important than the money that they we are running health as a shelter to acquire although we will say yes we want to get the money to be able to take care of them but when you now acquire the money and the child for whom you are trying to gather all this wealth comes down with mental illness who now spends the money those are some of the things that we really need to understand when we talk about mental health what people see most times is money but we need to understand money is not everything at that point you don't have money your mood will change but then what we are saying this money is protect your mental health in your own little way so your unborn children do everything you feel you should do as a parent if you are an absent parent try and find time to relate with those children ask questions take time to look through their homework with them ask questions about what is happening in their school and for those that are bodies today when they come home and sure you have enough time with them many a times those children face a lot of bullying in school and of course they should have course to tell them even in schools where there are bullying affected children should be made to see a psychologist in early enough so that anything that could have affected them adversely can be quickly resolved and for those that are bullying well we will not say they should not be punished but then the punishment they will be given should commiserate with the offence they have committed mental health issue is a continuous thing and we cannot we cannot exhaust it in one day but we will have to just drop it here today and hope that we are going to continue this discussion sometimes in the nearest future thank you so much for coming on the show this morning you are welcome Mr. so we have been talking with Dada Oluwatosa, Chief Nursing Officer Lagos State University Teaching Hospital we are talking about the fact that more and more teenagers have been diagnosed with depression and mental health issues and we are trying to see what needs to be done if you are that person who says catch them young begins with six months sending your child to school that could be a contributory factor to the mental health of your teenage or adult children ok we will take a short break and return briefly for the next hot topic stay with us