The Thursday Tribune Series
Every Thursday, the Asido Foundation shares fresh perspectives, educational insights, and reflections on mental health through a nationally syndicated column in the Nigerian Tribune. Explore our archive of articles that shape conversations and challenge stigma.
Showing 1 - 10 of 213 articles
Sleep and your Health
January 29, 2026
Ifeanyichukwu is living in Ibadan, and there has been no power supply for four days. It is 3 am, and he has been tossing and turning for hours. His rechargeable fan is dead, and there is no fuel for his generator. He has to go to work by 7 am, but he is exhausted and hasn’t slept a wink.
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Navigating Quarter-Life Crisis
January 22, 2026
Emeka is a 29-year-old banker in Lagos. He is planning to get married sometime this year but has been having disagreements with his partner. He has been experiencing feelings of monotony and aimlessness over the past few months. He feels stuck and without a sense of purpose. He contemplated resigning multiple times, but he is not sure what job to pivot to. He is not sure what he really wants anymore.
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Protecting Your Mental Health as an Unemployed Nigerian Youth
January 15, 2026
Adesewa completed her NYSC nine months ago. Since then, she has applied to thousands of jobs and has gotten no interview invites. Due to the lack of financial resources, she moved to her parents’ house to live. In the past five months, since she has been home, she has become the caregiver for her young siblings. She has lost her sense of independence and now thinks gloomily of the future. Her parents ask her about marriage, and she wonders if she is in a position to marry anyone as an unemployed woman.
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Coping with Grief and Loss During Festive Seasons
December 25, 2025
Adesewa lost her husband to cancer in June. This Christmas will be her first Christmas without her husband since they married twenty-five years ago. She has been apprehensive about the day and is wondering how to celebrate the day. She keeps reminiscing about how they spent Christmas together in the past.
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International Day of Care and Support for All
October 30, 2025
About 50% of the Nigerian population is young and under the age of 18 years. Nigeria currently has the highest number of older persons in Africa and the 19th globally, with the number likely to triple by 2050. According to the World Health Organization, about 20% of people in Nigeria live with mental illness. A 2018 report by the World Health Organization also reveals that about 29 million people live with disabilities in Nigeria. All these figures simply underline the high percentage of vulnerable people in Nigeria who require social care. On the global scene, it is estimated that the number of people who require social care is set to hit 2.3 billion.
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Ageing With Grace – Promoting the Emotional Wellness of Senior Citizens
October 22, 2025
According to the World Health Organization, about 14% of people over the age of 60 globally are living with one mental illness or another. It is also reported that over 10% of the disability experienced by the elderly is a result of severe mental illness. Despite these damning statistics and the realities of conditions around us, mental illness among older adults is poorly understood and not prioritized.
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Eating for Optimal Mental Health
October 16, 2025
Abraham Marslow’s hierarchy of needs, emphasizes basic needs as the foundation to self-actualization. A core feature of basic needs is food. A hungry person is likely to suffer poor emotional wellbeing, be irritable and quick to anger and may lack the peace of mind to focus on self-improvement. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), about 11% of all deaths in 2021 were related to a poor diet. NCD Alliance also reported that unhealthy eating costs the global economy about $8 trillion. Many of us are aware that healthy eating is important for our physical health, but few of us are aware that it is crucial for our mental health. Studies report that the consumption of junk food can result in a 16% increase in the risk of developing mental illness. Processed foods have a significant relationship with increased risk of anxiety and depression. Studies have also shown that mental health problems are higher in populations with food insecurity. Our brain consumes about 20% of our daily food intake. The brain gets glucose, proteins, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as Omega-3s. The proteins and vitamins are used to make neurotransmitters, which are important chemicals in the […]
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World Mental Health Day 2025: Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies
October 9, 2025
In a report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), it was reported that at the end of 2024, there were 123.2 million displaced people globally. 73.5 million of these individuals were internally displaced persons, 42.7 million were refugees, and 8.4 million were asylum seekers. The UN Refugee Agency raises the alarm that displacement has nearly doubled in the past ten years. This crisis is even more disastrous for children, who make up 29% of the world population but 40% of all forcibly displaced people globally. Here in Nigeria, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reported that there were 3.4 million internally displaced people at the end of 2024. According to UNICEF, about 1.9 million people are displaced in North-east Nigeria alone, and sixty per cent of these people are children. Over the past decade, the number of people affected by conflicts, disasters such as floods and droughts, insurgency, artificial disasters, and public crises has increased significantly. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that over 1.3 million people were affected by flood in 34 states in Nigeria in 2024. In the fire at Afriland Towers in September 2025, 10 people were reported dead and 25 people were […]
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Mental wellbeing in HIV: The Part No One Talks About
September 4, 2025
HIV is not just a medical condition—it is a life-altering reality that carries deep psychologicalburdens. Today, more than 39 million people globally live with HIV, with Nigeria aloneaccounting for approximately 1.9 million cases. While modern medicine has transformed HIVinto a manageable chronic illness, its mental health impact remains largely overlooked. Researchshows that people living with HIV (PLHIV) are 2 to 3 times more likely to experience mentalhealth disorders than the general population. Yet, mental health support remains inadequate,leaving many to battle their struggles in silence. The Toll of HIV on Mental Well-beingReceiving an HIV diagnosis can trigger a variety of emotional and psychological reactions, suchas shock, denial, fear, confusion, shame, guilt, and profound grief. If left unaddressed, theseinitial responses can evolve into a range of serious mental health conditions that significantlyaffect quality of life. Among the most common is depression, which affects up to 40% of peopleliving with HIV (PLHIV). This is often rooted in stigma, isolation, and the overwhelminguncertainty that accompanies the diagnosis. Alongside depression, many individuals experienceanxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety and panic disorders, with prevalence ratesranging from 30 to 40%. These are frequently driven by fears of rejection, disclosure, jobinsecurity, or declining health.For some, the psychological burden […]
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Asido @ 6: Six years of reducing stigma and improving access to mental health care
August 14, 2025
Across Nigeria and indeed the African continent, a young child may be denied of the opportunity to attend school because the child has a seizure disorder. A young adolescent may drop out of the University because of psychosis. A female with mental illness may be taken to a traditional or religious healer where they are chained and may be sexually abused. Others may suffer food deprivation, physical beatings (purportedly for exorcism), and so on. Many affected families are stigmatized and ostracized.
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