When a Young Nigerian get Anxious (Study)
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When a young Nigerian suffers from anxiety they are bothered about their education.
They are in a relationship and balancing it with work causes them to worry.
Another issue could be that they have a job and are trying to balance it out with schooling.
Good evening everyone, its Dr Ebingo Kigigha again, with a new topic...Anxiety.
Like Depression, I want to be able to write up to a thousand words about the topic from my head that will be factual.
Like always, I will start with anxiety in Nigeria with an article I can reference. The best I could find was this one where Anxiety was studied in the population of the National Youth Service. Let me explain to those who do not know How this service works.
In Nigeria after your first degree in the university, you are expected to go to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program where you will be posted to any state of the federation. This is expected to be a fun activity, but the level of safety in Nigeria usually comes to play, causing some anxiety.
That said lets go on...
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a mental health condition characterised by jitteriness, fear, abnormal sweating and tachycardia. Anxiety can lead to a panic attack which has significantly worse symptoms.
Anxiety can be a normal response to certain conditions, like right before a performance, or a test or exam. The feeling of anxiety generally speaking can be helpful in preparing the body to respond to a dangerous situation.
Anxiety disorder goes to extents beyond just the feeling of anxiety before a test. It interferes with daily function and makes it difficult for the sufferer to make it through the day, the patient also has uneasy emotions in addition to uncontrollable reactions to certain situations.
The causes
The different causes include chemical imbalances, hereditary causes and the environment.
The symptoms
The manifestations of the condition can appear physically, psychologically and in the behaviour of the patient.
Physically the patient might start having symptoms like sweating, palpitations, cold hands, nausea, difficulty breading, and a weird feeling on the hands.
Psychological problems like nightmares, flashbacks, and the like can also affect those dealing with anxiety.
The patient may also not be able to control their reaction to the environment and can be more jittery.
The Study
In this study, NYSC members in North Western Nigeria were studied to ascertain the occurrence of anxiety. The risk factors present in this population were also assessed.
The study population was counted as 157 members of the NYSC program who were given questionnaires over a period of 3 weeks in 2018. The state in the North Western part of Nigeria was Kebbi state.
According to, the study, most of the members who moved to the North West for the program were in fact from the southern part of Nigeria and that was a possible cause of the anxiety prevalence in the population.
In the next set of the blog, we will be building on this and discussing the rest of the article.
Tips
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions, more possibly more common than depression in some countries.
Just like many other mental health conditions, it is best managed by a doctor. There is no way to force anxiety away from your life. Doctors will typically prescribe medication and the patient sees a psychotherapist.
Primary Health care practicians are very important for the diagnosis and exclusion of other similar conditions.
Hive Stories
In @blind-spot's, narration, he talks about how the Ukrainians have been living in fear and anxiety. In the post, he describes the situation of the area he lives in. I can only imagine how bad things have been on lately.
I would like to use this opportunity to send my love and care. I hope that things get better.
Questions
- What are the causes of Anxiety?
- What can be done to treat Anxiety?
Conclusion
Anxiety is a common mental health condition. It affects a significant number of people. For the best result in treatment, early diagnosis is key.
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Anxiety and Nigerian individuals who experience safety and identity crisis is a match made in...where? I don't know. I've experienced my own fair share be it about a job, my performance on the job and what my purpose might be.
Lol...I really hooe we can educate ourselves so we can grow from knowledge sha.
Thank you for stopping by
❤️
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Thank you for this educatIve piece. Myself have experienced anxiety before, although I didn’t see a therapist, I just spoke to one or two persons that gave good advice. Anxiety and depression as a Nigerian student is very common, kos there are a lot of factors that triggers it. Failed courses, funny lecturers, financial issues etc. but it’s just how to handle it and a good mindset. Thank u really for this piece🥹
Therapy is expensive, I just hope that as we start to make money in life, ewe can start to consider therapy.
I totally agree. In Nigeria as well as many low-income countries, we really do not know what is out to get us on a day to day basis. But at the same time having the disorder can be very paralysing.
You are welcome. Thanks for stopping by
This reminds me of the past where I am too afraid to do anything. I don't know if it is categorized as anxiety but I have extreme fear of failing and being looked at by other people. I tend to hide when I met strangers along the way. Imagine my extreme shame when they find me out. I do sweat but not abnormally.
In my case, I know that the cause is mainly environmental as I grew up along a lot of bullies and perfectionist adults.
Over the years, I tried curing this fear by exposing myself into the public. One of the things that I did try is teaching college students and have to get off the room to wipe off my excessive sweat every few minutes. LOL. I find it funny if I remember it but my fear back then was real.
Anyways, thanks for sharing. 🙂
!1UP
I'm so glad you've been able to grow past it.
Growing up in that sort of environment can affect anyone. You start hearing the voices of the bullies and the adults you had around you when you are alone.
I glad you stopped by to read my post.
Hope you have a nice day!!
Your welcome. I am glad that I could relate. 😊
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I was talking to a woman from Ukraine recently, and I expressed surprise that she didn't like the fireworks that we were hearing in that moment. And she said that because of the bombardments in Ukraine, she's afraid of the fireworks now, the first thing she feels when she hears them is fear, and then a couple seconds later reason kicks in, but the fun is already spoiled and the anxiety has taken a seat. A few days later when they were shooting fireworks again, I noticed that they do indeed sound a lot like enemy fire.
That's very scary stuff. I really do not know how living over there might feel. I have heard stories of wars and everything about it sounds like a nightmare.
My heart goes out to you and your friend.