Building Resilience: Nurturing Mental Well-Being in Challenging Times

The world we live in is one crazy one as many people's mental health has crashed, leading to low self-esteem and depression. In this part of the world, Nigeria, depression is often disregarded, yet it has resulted in many deaths, both old and young. I have seen and known people who had struggled mentally, and the things of this world do not just interest them anymore. Many have ended their lives, while many have resulted in doing heavy drugs and abusing alcohol.

The developed world takes mental health seriously. However, Nigeria and Nigerians are beginning to take it seriously too. I know of a church in Nigeria called Harvesters whose General Overseer, Pastor Bolaji Idowu, whose Sunday service theme is "overcoming depression", achieving this equates to having great mental health. I know of many ways to maintain great mental health and sanity; however, it is always with the help of people.

So, despite the madness in my country, ranging from corruption to police brutality to bad governance, I have survived just by talking to someone or connecting with someone. For me, I am in close ties with my family. Despite not staying in close proximity, I ensure I pay them all a visit after Sunday church service. This way, I get to play, laugh, and keep my sanity in check as I work remotely, and I hardly have people to come around and pay me a visit.

So the tactics in which I can share for anyone looking to have sound mental health to keep pushing no matter what is thrown at them are:

• A community of strong social support is needed, which could come from close family members. It could be your partners, colleagues at work, church members, childhood friends and any other person you could trust with your feelings. The keyword is that you in this social support system are trusted individuals whose you could share your story with and could help you get out of your head and from isolation. Talking about someone's opinion is often misunderstood and underacted, yet it could fix many mental health issues.

• Do not be a people pleaser; ensure your self-care comes first. In Nigeria, men's and women's mental health suffers from mental-related issues. However, Most Married Woman or ladies suffers from mental stress or depression the most as they are busy taking care of everyone while neglecting to take care of themselves. Taking breaks and engaging in quality time to care for oneself is important. Do more of your hobbies and what makes you happy, go for that vacation, do your hair, diet to get in shape and relax well. This way, you get to love yourself. Your mental health will take you.

• Staying off social media is a must to keep your mental health in check. They are a lot of bad news flying on social media. It is also easy to compare your life with others on social media. One of the greatest reasons our mental health suffers is the information and lifestyle others live; we aspire to be in their shoes. Not getting such a life or knowing that such a life could never be your results in one questioning everything about yourself. Social media is one of the greatest promoters of low self-esteem as you don't do your ability and yourself. Stay off social media because many of what you see are people sharing their best and happiest moments, and you may be having and living a better life than the people you are comparing your life with. Most people with a colourful wife on social media have a dark life off social media.

• Develop a sense of gratitude towards life; this way, you tend to appreciate life and compare yourself less with others. Always be thankful for what you have in life; where we are is someone else's answered prayers. So this sense of gratitude helps build a sense of contentment. Contentment helps eliminate any sense of comparison because even if you want something you can not get now, you will be grateful for the one you have.

• Using myself as an example, I am often stressed due to the numerous workload and deliverables I might have to work one in a day. This stress affects our mental health. I remember working on Prem, and I was expected to work from the office daily; with how mismanaged the Lagos traffic was handled, I could spend hours on a journey that should not take me more than 20 minutes, which built up stress. It is important to manage this stress or develop street management. Going for late-night walks, taking deep breathing exercises, scheduling quality 8 hours of sleep, and talking enough water are some stress management techniques one could employ to manage stress.

• In cases where one is not surrounded by anyone he or she can trust or speak to, we should seek the help of a seasoned professional to help us create a feel-good atmosphere or to feel good about ourselves. Mental health professionals, such as therapists or counsellors, can provide guidance, support, and therapeutic interventions tailored to your specific needs.

In closing, protecting one's mental health is important, and to actualize sanity requires help and connection with others. This set of coping mechanisms might apply differently as we all have different experiences as people, so it is best to recognise and choose a method or solution that works for you. Remember, you are loved, and you are why someone is happy, do not kill their joy by putting yourself in isolation, reach out to someone and get the help you deserve.