FlakkysVoice

02/06/2022

Is He Sick or Not: Mental Health versus Mental Illness

There was an argument going on at the supermarket that day.
A voice against others.
After sometime on the long queue at the other counter, I could delineate the prominent voices.

Voice: "Preposterous! ludicrous! absolute nonsensical assertions.
My very respected person takes exception to the way this matter is being handled."

Manager: excuse me Sir, you cannot tell us that............

Voice: Preposterous! preposterous.....

Manager: You must be mad. You madddd man! Crazy man.

Voice: Objection! Absolute objection! Who do you say is mad? This is a slander on my very personable self. If you don't know, the law takes a stand against the libellous labelling and gross misrepresentation of any citizen of the land. According to Section blah blah under the Nigerian constitution, you cannot.......blah blah blah....

Back and forth, the arguments went. Who is the Mr Grammar that the store people were fighting with?
What is causing this fight sef?

Suddenly, the voice called out.....
Dr Ogundele! Dr Ogundele!

Funny, there is another Dr Ogundele also here.

Then again the voice rang out
Dr Ogundele, I am the one calling you. It's me, Mr James.

People were looking in my direction. I too was looking in my own direction but no one else responded to the name.
I am the Dr Ogundele being called oh.
Okayyyy, so who was it?
Lo and behold it was Mr James, the Grammarian. A face from the past.
Oh nooooo! Why me?

What does Mr James say next? Haaaaa, it is a very embarrassing moment to remember.

He shouts: You seeeee! Ahaaaa! This is Dr Ogundele, the mad doctor. She is one of the best of the best, mad personnels in this Abeokuta. If she says that you are mad, then you are mad.
Dr Ma, come and prove my sanity. Is my medulla oblongata correct?

Egbami! Mogbe. In front of plenty strangers. Which type of introduction is this? Are there still people who use these types of archaic, stigmatising language when talking about mental health issues?

All eyes on me. Are people snickering at me? Did they just move some few spaces away?

Mr James: Dr Ogundele come thither! Come thither. Come and attest to my very present, stable state of mind.

What's with all these bogus English sef? Which one is "come thither"?

He was insistent and so I went to see what his business was all about and why I needed to prove his "sanity".

Do you know what the bickering was all about? The reason why our Mr James was holding a cashier/supermarket to ransom?

There was a mistake on the price label of an item he picked. The actual price on the supermarket's record was higher and so he was to either pay up the difference or drop the item. Simple something one will say abi but Mr James being Mr James started quoting constitutional rights and moving motion up and down that he had been deceived with intent to embarrass. He won't agree.

After their narration, he turns to me.
So Dr Ogundele am I insane?

Me: No, I don't think so.

Manager looks at me incredulously: You mean he is mentally okay! The person talking and reasoning like this is okay?? Which type of doctor are you?

Me: A doctor that treats people with mental health challenges and No, I am not saying he is mentally okay.

People burst out laughing.

Manager (now looks as if he wants to slap me): what are you saying gangan? He is not sick and yet he is not well? What is the meaning of this rubbish that you are saying?

Me: I am saying someone may not meet the criteria for a diagnosed mental disorder but that doesn't mean the person is mentally healthy. They are two different things Sir.

Manager: Rubbish! Rubbish! Nonsense doctor saying rubbish nonsense

Small time, manager and Mr James started physical fight. The store people said they were going to call police.
I didn't bother to even buy my own items again before I used style to reverse and leave the place.
Before someone will say, I was the one aiding and abetting Mr James. How much of English can I speak to bail myself? Who would come thither to plead my case?

Not everyone that has a negative mental health has mental illness.
Suboptimal mental health however, means that the affected person won't enjoy life to the fullest.
Poor mental health also has significant but negative imparts on quality of life.

If you always seem to be on the wrong side of people perhaps you need to assess if your mental health is okay.

For more reading: https://wellbeing.gov.bc.ca/difference-between-mental-health-and-mental-illness.

Folake Ogundele



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More than ever, people are aware of the importance of talking about mental health and mental illness. You might be hearing these terms more often. You might wonder what they mean or have questions: What’s the difference between mental health and mental illness? Is feeling sad or unhappy a sign of ...

30/04/2022

Rats Don't Chill with the Bigboyz

Once upon a 2002, when small money was still big money, there was a rat who lived among the sons and daughters of men.
This rat was a proud one. His only aspiration in life was to "do bamba; to chill with the big boys and to be eating the type of food that his forefathers did not eat".This vision was a good one but indeed a rat's vision as it was what made Mr Rat to pass his level.

Also in this same year 2002 was my friend and her suit.
My doctor friend bought a graduation, trouser suit in 2002 for a whooping sum of 6k and then hung in her closet to await the day that the kings of the land would invite for a feast.
Wear it to work now!
Instead she will answer "no ohhh. I bought it 6k now". Every free weekend, she will wear it in front of mirror to admire herself and then hang it back.

Now what relationship did my friend, her suit and Mr Rat have? You see, the rat decided to be chilling in my friend's room.
Rat saw books, it did not eat. It saw food, nah it didn't munch, rat now went and bit bu**um of the suut's pant. What disrespectful and punishable act!

Even if it ate it at the tip, e for maybe die gentle but stupid rat went and ate just a tiny part but enough that my friend saw red.

How dare a rat eat her sacred suit? From that day, Mr Rat became a wanted individual. Its days became numbered.
So like Naija police we started secret investigation and set a trap. Laslas after one week of active surveillance we caught Mr Rat. My friend beat it severely with everything beatable while repeatedly shouting at it "next time you will not eat what does not belong to you".

Hellooo. This is a rat o. I wanted to plead it's case but seeing the energy with which the rat was being assaulted, I decided it was better the rat's life than my peace. My friend done vex.

After the beating or near killing, Mr Rat was taken to the courtyard for public prosecution. People were astounded at the effrontery of the rat. They pointed fingers and gave more beatings. " You this rat ate a 6k suit at the bu**um! How wicked! Stupid rat! What a grievous sin!
There the people, mainly educated human beings oh! started accusing this rat of many sins.
" You ate my jollof rice; you always disturb my sleep; You made my oga to shout on me; you gave me a scare ............". Which accusation did they not accuse that day? Only this one rat in that town did all these? Na wa.

Pruuummmmhhh! Little time oh someone brought out bleach. They poured it on the rat. Mr Rat screeched, tears fell from its eyes or may be it was the bleach sha as its breaths went out.
The huge crowd, did they have pity? Of course not.

Next thing o, someone had brought kerosene and matches. Death by burning squad.
Pruuummmmhhh, Pruuummmmhhh they poured the kerosene and sharaaahh matches were lit. Mr Rat's body burned and burned. As the flames went out, people dispersed slowly with smiles on their faces. The enemy had been vanquished; at least for today a battle had been won. Tomorrow with it's own narrative. It didn't matter that it was against just a non-consequential thing. It was just that it erred and went against the laws of their land.
Rest in peace in your pieces, Mr Rat. Ohhh Mr Rat! May be if you reincarnate, you will know your level.

Why am I telling you this story now? It is because there is a lot of anger flying around in people these days. The harsh economy in the country is making it difficult for people to channel their frustrations and energy appropriately. Any little thing and then sparks begin to fly.

Don't be a victim. Don't be the rat who crossed it's boundaries with people, no matter who they are. Rats Don't Chill with the Bigboyz oh.
Some people have the cutest puppy look but underneath they are a raging bull dog. Avoid confrontations as much as possible especially in public. You don't know who you might be messing with.

Don't be a perpetuator, a rat killer. Learn how to better manage your anger and channel your inner battles well.

That your family or friend, colleague or acquittance, that stranger that just annoyed you is not your enemy.and definitely not the devil.
Be Calming Down.

Folake Ogundele
Consultant Psychiatrist