"I made the money I wanted, but it cost me my mental health" — A lady recounts the experience she had in a phychaistric hospital.

The hidden identity of a woman is revealed as she recounts the tragic tale of how her pursuit of financial success ultimately cost her life. She experienced a severe mental breakdown, resulting in a desperate search for help that led her from one hospital to another, even seeking solace from pastors in hopes of a miraculous cure.

Reflecting on her journey, she remembers visiting a psychiatric facility as her last glimmer of hope, after managing to convince her family that a solution might be found there.

 She Narrates,

"I am a medical graduate from one of the Nigerian universities and i graduated with very good grades and I'm a very hard working young lady.

Internship is the time we hit our first 6 - 7 digits and I was really deliberate in learning and earning. It was a very tough time for me.

I got placement in a busy facility, and was working hard to save enough money. 

I'm not from a very rich home so I also thought of helping my parents pay certain family bills. I was in my early 20s. I was writing seminars and bench reports for my colleagues and they paid me. I was also doing my night calls and still even doing for my colleagues for a pay.

 With these, I wasn't even touching my salary at all. Other interns were also doing it and I thought I was as strong as them. One was almost living inside the hospital. I work almost throughout the day and night. 

Of course during school days, I studied at night so I thought it won't get to me, but the story changed during my posting at blood group serology and accident and emergency. I hardly had time to get enough rest.

I didn't realize I was overstressing my brain till the day I found myself in the accident and emergency ward. They told me that I had seizures in the night and lost consciousness, after everything, I was given one week to rest. 

I traveled home and had a good rest. I also stopped doing the extra calls for people. After the programme, I felt sick and the episode occured again. I got myself treated thinking it was just a one time occurrence but it continued even after I got better. 

I no longer go out for the fear of fainting and being unconscious. I went to a hospital and met a GP, he wrote a drug that I took, it stopped but occured again after I finished it. We went to one diagnostic centre in a developing town and did some examinations and they called one yeye name for us. 

We kept going from place to place, I couldn't proceed for NYSC neither did my parents allow me take a job that I got that time. At some point, we switched to spiritual, perhaps evil people are after me as I'm the first graduate in the family that just got money. 

My family have never been the type that visit prayer houses, but circumstance dragged us to prayer houses. We went to the first church, as soon as I walked in with my mum, pastor started talking about husband. At that age I wasn't thinking about marriage at all, I wasn't even having anything with any man. We left.

 The second one really got us. He said some things about my father being a good man and people want to block his shine, he asked us to sow seed according to my age. I transferred the money to the pastor, plus other items like fowl, egg, coconut etc that he asked us to bring. 

He did his prayers and I went for their prayers a few other times, I will take transport to that place and he will ask us to give everything we have as offering. He will ask me to fast, when I'm fainting at random. I started suspecting him and decided not to go again. We still went to other places (medically and native) and all these cost money.

I later realized that some other people have had a similar condition due to excessive stress, one of my colleagues convinced me to visit a psychiatric hospital. I told my father and he hushed me saying that psychia is for mad people, that I'm not mad na. 

I insisted that I will give it a try because the embarrassment from the seizure was much. People may start thinking I'm epileptic as a young girl, when we have no family history of epilepsy at all.

I went and met a neuropsychiatrist. Told her what I experienced, but she insisted that I must bring someone along with me because since it is something that happens outside my conscious mind, I can't explain it properly.

I took my dad for the next visit and he explained everything thoroughly to her. I started treatment. I was given some tablets, which I took and thought it is the usual way of finishing one card and resting but the episode occured again. I reported back and they told me to be taking it consistently, every day. 

I took the drugs everyday till the episode never occured again. I went for the next visit and they gradually started reducing the dosage of the drug and still instructed me to continue.

It didn't happen again, and I was able to go for NYSC a year later. During my NYSC, I refused to work at night. I told them that I will work only during the day, and sleep once it is 11pm. No disturbance till 6am. I don't care how much will be paid.

It has been years, and I still have phobia for night calls. I rather work during the day and rest thoroughly throughout the night. I don't even take calls once it is beyond 10:30pm and all my friends, family and business partners know that as a rule. Though not everyone know the reason behind that.

Till date, I have never had the episode again and I stopped taking the drugs after 2 years.

I made the money I wanted, but it cost me my mental health, I won't make such mistake again. I advise younger ones and junior colleagues not to over work themselves so that they can live to enjoy their money.

Another important point I have to make is that a psychiatric hospital is not only for mad people. It is also for people with any kind of mental issues such as depression (those that are heart broken, those who lost a loved one or a fortune), those that over used drugs and illegal substances like marijuana, cannabis etc, people that have seizures and other brain malfunction due to stress and anxiety as the case may be.

I remembered one day, a bus driver stopped me in front of the hospital and jokingly told me as a fine girl, I should be careful of mad people there oo, I smiled and said in mind that if only this man knew that I'm even a patient there but traveled all the way for a visit with my consultant.

Also not all mental cases are spiritual, most of them require psychotherapy to bounce back, not just prayers and sacrifice. I took my medications properly and I'm well again.

I give all glory to God, and I appreciate my friend who advised me and also convinced my father to take me to a neuropsychiatric hospital"

Credit: Facebook|Humans of Abuja