Group tasks Nigerians on health status

A mental healthcare and therapeutic organisation, Jars Education Group, has urged Nigerians to be conscious of their health status before it becomes problematic.

The president and initiator, Dr. Akindotun Merino, gave the advice, yesterday, during a community trauma awareness walk organised in collaboration with Concerned Parents and Educators (CPE), Star Children Initiative, Sascare Foundation, Lifeline, Foundation for Injured Light Mission (FILM) and others.

The walk, which was in commemoration of Mental Health Awareness Week, was themed “Trauma care is community care.” Merino said: “Most people don’t understand that when things happen to them in life, emotionally and psychologically, it’s just as impactful as when they have a physical injury.”

Chief Operating Officer and Head of the Nigerian team for Jars Group International, Adebimpe Osinuga, noted that trauma “is caused by chronic and toxic stress on the body.”

Emotional and mental traumas, she added, are what is call inner wounds of the heart, soul, mind.

“These are wounds that you cannot see, because they are not physical, but they are in the end, traumatic to the people, who have encountered this kind of chronic and toxic stress,” Osinuga added.

Also, Executive Director, FILM, Samuel Pender said trauma “is an overwhelming reaction that is caused by a horrible situation.” His words: “In our society today, we have a terrible and horrible situation, like traffic. It has its own trauma that is affecting people.

The education sector where ASUU has been on strike has its own way of traumatising students. So, trauma is everywhere. It is real and in Nigeria, it is inevitable. So that is why we are trying to see how we can lessen the burden that trauma brings to the people.”