Afrigather On this digital period, know-how is irrevocably embedded in our every day lives, and as such, our on-line experiences have an outsized influence on our psychological well being. Nonetheless, know-how may also supply help for the promotion and nurturing of our psychological well-being.
Social media platforms like Fb, Instagram, and Twitter have turn into ingrained in our every day routines, permitting us to attach with others, share tales, and categorical ourselves. Nonetheless, common utilization of social media may also result in elevated charges of hysteria and melancholy, notably in young people.
However the web transcends this dichotomy, and may also supply sources and digital help to raised perceive psychological well being circumstances and get assist for them.
A more in-depth have a look at the connection between our digital lives, and our psychological well being can reveal quite a few methods to benefit from the sources digital help affords to nurture our psychological well-being.
Understanding digital help
Digital help for psychological well being includes a variety of sources and platforms that leverage know-how to offer help for psychological well being points. This consists of idea on-line remedy platforms, digital communities, chatbots, movies, and articles.
Digital help for psychological well being supplies some form of anonymity, permitting people to hunt assist with out the worry of being judged. It additionally facilitates connections with numerous help networks, enabling people to attach with others who perceive and share comparable experiences. Moreover, with round the clock availability, digital help for psychological well being ensures that people can all the time entry assist after they want it.
Though digital psychological well being help isn’t a alternative for conventional remedy, it combines know-how and human interplay to offer accessible, informative, and sensible help to people searching for psychological well being assist.
The influence of social media on psychological well being
Nigeria’s psychological well being system faces numerous challenges and gaps, particularly in native communities. There’s a lack of knowledge and understanding, which results in stigma and discrimination. This worsens present points and creates boundaries to accessing high quality care. Statistics show that 80% of Nigerians with psychological well being wants can’t entry care because of societal attitudes towards psychological sickness and an absence of applicable sources, amenities, and psychological well being workers.
Hauwa Ojeifo, a licensed integrative psychological well being coach and activist, and the founding father of She Writes Woman and Safe Place Nigeria shed some mild on the challenges surrounding the utilisation of social media for psychological well being help and interventions. In a dialog with TechCabal, she defined that not everybody with a cellular gadget has entry to digital areas. “We’ve got to recognise that while cell phone penetration in Nigeria can appear fairly excessive, web penetration just isn’t as excessive as we expect,” she instructed TechCabal.
“In order a lot as we’re utilizing social media or digital media as alternatives to unfold psychological well being consciousness, to offer correct data and data round psychological well being, and to offer some form of first help, we now have to recognise that we’re truly not reaching the furthest behind first. We’re not reaching, maybe many of the grassroots, and the individuals who might not even have the privilege, entry, or orientation to have the ability to navigate the digital house,” Ojeifo concluded.
Nonye Ukwuoma, a licensed scientific psychologist, psychotherapist, and founder and lead guide at 360 Psyche, believes that social media will also be used to unfold misinformation about psychological well being in addition to foster psychological well being challenges. “Social media can promote misinformation about psychological well being and encourage unreliable sources. Social media creates its personal psychological well being problem akin to cyberbullying, even throughout the house the place folks come to hunt help. I’ve seen areas on social media that ought to be thought of ‘protected’, however they didn’t look protected as a result of the recommendations provided as help may be outrightly or silently unhealthy for psychological well being,” Ukwuoma defined.
Nonetheless, Ojeifo is optimistic concerning the help digital entry supplies for people dealing with psychological well being challenges. She provides that the entry performs a vital position in bridging gaps. “I’d say there’s been loads of upsides to digital help, it signifies that we don’t must be in bodily proximity to psychological well being help earlier than we are able to entry it, and we are able to additionally get a community of group. And I feel that’s one thing that’s largely underestimated within the psychological well being restoration course of, particularly on this aspect of the world,” she mentioned. “The digital house affords us a chance to attach with folks similar to us going via comparable challenges, but additionally see what’s working for different folks and attempt to use that for ourselves. Having these types of interventions plug the gaps may be very, very useful in shifting the needle ahead.”
Sharing in Ojeifo’s optimism about digital help, Ukwuoma believes that face-to-face interplay isn’t all the time vital, and digital help strategies will enable professionals to prioritise pressing psychological well being wants and finally result in improved outcomes for shoppers. “We’re a worldwide village and one of many issues we now know is that we don’t have to see face-to-face. After I began practising, it appeared nearly alien that we’d assist a shopper after they weren’t bodily current.” she mentioned. “This typically stretches a remedy plan which will finally have an effect on the prognosis. At the moment, most organisations together with 360 Psyche, encourage and prioritise digital help. Purchasers get help by way of telephone calls, emails, chats, and video calls, amongst others. This offers time to give attention to extra urgent psychological well being wants, which interprets to a greater prognosis for shoppers.”
Arinze, an lively participant in a web-based psychological well being consciousness group referred to as Omhac, shared his views concerning the constructive influence of digital platforms and the way Omhac has enriched his understanding of psychological well being. In becoming a member of the net group, his intention was to achieve extra data on psychological well being. “I discover it very straightforward to attach and work together with folks within the group, and I’ve elevated my data of psychological well being. I’ve realized extra about totally different strategies when combating psychological well being sicknesses, and I’ve a common data about how a few of these issues have an effect on our day-to-day lives and the folks which might be near us,” Arinze mentioned.
He additionally expressed how useful and supportive the net group has been. “I discover their Twitter areas very, very useful. They host it as soon as a month they usually invite different audio system to come back to share their ideas or educate us additional on issues that relate to psychological well being. The group may be very heavy on teamwork, everyone all the time desires to assist in a method or one other, and it has helped me out with my anxiousness. I now know higher in coping with it and the way to not let it overwhelm me typically. I’d 100% advocate it to people who find themselves in search of on-line psychological well being help teams as a result of it’s straightforward to entry and it is rather, very enlightening.”
Exploring and embracing digital help
In response to Ojeifo, extra folks must embrace the thought of digital help, because of the absence of community-based psychological well being providers in Nigeria and the restricted give attention to psychological well being on the nationwide degree. “We’re in Nigeria, the place some statistics present that there are simply 300 psychiatrists, in a inhabitants of over 200 million Nigerians. So you’ll be able to see that that may be a stark statistic. That’s knowledge that’s in all probability not going to shut in one other 10 to twenty years,” she mentioned. “We’re taking a look at a rustic the place there may be barely any form of community-based psychological well being care providers that may attain the inhabitants of the grassroots, the place psychological well being just isn’t notably but on the forefront of the healthcare agenda, public well being agenda, incapacity agenda, and even orientation agenda within the nation. And so what which means is that, as a rule, or extra possible than not, you would want to interact with the help that isn’t supplied by the system itself. That’s state-owned amenities and issues like that.”
Ukwuoma echoed her sentiments selling digital help for psychological well being, citing the comfort and sense of belonging that digital help affords as promoting factors. “Extra folks ought to embrace digital help because it supplies people with the chance to hunt help and data from the consolation of their very own houses, at any time that’s handy for them. On-line communities, boards, and help teams present a way of belonging and help, permitting people to share their tales, change recommendation, and discover solace in realizing they aren’t alone. Part of our mind that promotes wellness is activated once we know we aren’t alone,” Ukwuoma defined.
Ojeifo believes {that a} vital contributor to the success of her organisation, She Writes Girl, is the truth that it’s composed of people who’ve personally skilled psychological well being circumstances. “I consider the one factor that we’ve completed through the years, one thing that works nice for us is first, the truth that we’re an organisation of individuals with psychological well being circumstances,” Ojeifo mentioned.
“I consider one of many issues that make digital platforms reliable and makes folks have interaction with them maybe a bit extra intently than others, is realizing that the folks on the opposite aspect are folks like me. And for us, that has been a distinguishing issue. It’s recognising that folks know that, oh, my therapist may additionally be someone who lives with a psychological well being situation, or a minimum of I do know this organisation speaks from the viewpoint of individuals like me.” she added.
Ukwuoma additionally emphasised the importance of digital help platforms having a educated skilled to watch and supply streamlined help. “It’s necessary to have a monitoring individual or individuals. Individuals get extra streamlined help when the help is monitored by an individual educated in psychological well being and emotional help. It’s necessary to set enforceable boundaries and there ought to be a chance for on-line members to hunt assist from a licensed skilled via safe and personal channels digitally. Not all types of assist may be gotten from on-line communities and 24/7 on-line help is necessary as a result of it affords folks a chance to get assist promptly,” she defined.
Ojeifo addressed the potential destructive influence of social media on psychological well being and gave methods or tips that people can observe to navigate these challenges. She means that it’s important for people to acknowledge and acknowledge that they aren’t superior to the instruments they use, because it units the muse for making vital changes. “Whether or not we prefer it or not, there are immense destructive results of social media. Within the science of social media, there’s a psychology to it. It’s understanding human behaviour, understanding purchaser behaviour, understanding shopper economics and shopper psychology,” she instructed TechCabal.
“I usually inform folks, the very first thing to do is to acknowledge that we’re no more highly effective than these instruments as a result of that additionally units the bottom for the way we are able to start to regulate. We’ve got a sure form of inner conceitedness once we assume we’re extra highly effective than the instruments. Sure, they’re simply instruments and it is dependent upon how you employ them, however it’s additionally recognising that these instruments have been fastidiously curated, to really decide on our flaws as human beings, or a minimum of the neurobiology or neuroscience that we’re all ruled by,” she added.
Ukwuoma additionally highlighted the significance of setting agency boundaries when navigating social media. Her reasoning was that since it isn’t attainable to manage how folks behave on social media, you will need to minimise the potential for cyberbullying and on-line harassment. “The reality is, we actually can’t dictate how folks will act or react on social media, and we have to settle for that. Setting boundaries helps shield your privateness and reduces the chance of cyberbullying or on-line harassment. Develop a essential mindset when consuming content material on social media, and query the accuracy and reliability of data earlier than accepting it as fact. Confirm sources, fact-check data, and be cautious of misinformation or sensationalised content material that may contribute to anxiousness or worry,” she mentioned.
Rising tendencies within the psychological well being house
Within the closing phases of our dialogue, Ojeifo highlighted AI and telemedicine as some applied sciences she discovered notably promising however raised considerations about their attainable destructive penalties. “AI and telemedicine are two huge rising tendencies that we see within the house. However I’m a bit extra cautiously optimistic that while they could look like very promising instruments within the brief time period, I fear concerning the attainable downsides. If the precise rules and safeguarding usually are not in place, and if they’re ruled by the identical capitalist ideologies that we use to create different apps like social media apps, the place we’re taking a look at a revenue over the individual that is utilizing it.“
Ukwuoma described AI-powered chatbots as fascinating, highlighting her fascination with using machine studying and synthetic intelligence to offer emotional help. “A couple of years again, I watched a program the place an individual was receiving emotional help from a bot powered by machine studying and synthetic intelligence, and I used to be wowed. Persistently, we now have seen robots assist folks address loneliness, stress, and particular instructional wants, amongst others. Whereas some might argue that this may occasionally outrun psychological well being professionals, I personally assume it’s going to assist bridge remedy gaps.” she mentioned.
“An rising know-how I discover notably fascinating is the AI-powered chatbots, devoted to emotional help. It’s mind-blowing. This can assist extra folks, whereas we are able to focus extra on fewer, extra time-needing conditions,” Ukwuoma concluded.
What do you consider our tales? Inform us how you’re feeling by taking this quick 3-minute survey.
