Seminar on Mental Health: What Every Nigerian Should Know

 “We are broken in ways we do not understand,” a quote from the facilitator, Dr Harshwardhan Saini, at the Mental Health workshop that took place on Friday, November 1, in Helsinki.

Mental health is one of the major topics that Nigerians usually shy away from. Nigerians have been coerced into seeing mental health discussion as boring, banal and organised only for the weak and those who are feebleminded.

At the mental health workshop organised by the Nigerian community in Finland, a clinical scientist and mental health expert, Dr Harshwardhan Saini, spoke to Nigerians about the various importance of empathy, humility and how our various bias affects our relationship with others.

What is Mental Health?

Seminar on Mental Health: What Every Nigerian Should Know

Mental health refers to your emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how you think, feel, and behave. It also influences how you handle stress, relate to others, make decisions, and cope with challenges.

Individual Bias… According to Dr Saini

Bias can simply be described as preconceived notions, according to the mental health expert, Dr Saini.

During the session, Dr Saini admonished the audience to recognise their bias and endeavour to practice empathy and humility.

How do we describe empathy?

Empathy is putting yourself in another person’s shoes.

The following are characteristics of an empathetic individual:

-          Active listening

-          Prosocial behaviour

-          Considering impact

-          Perspective taking

-          Deep emotional response

Further, Dr Saini spoke about the importance of humility in interpersonal relationships.

Here are the various characteristics of humility:

-          Accurate self-awareness. Recognise strengths and weaknesses.

-          Acknowledgement of mistakes

-          Respect and valuing others.

-          Asking for help

-          Non-judgmental attitude.