A professor of psychiatry, Joseph Adeyemi, has said that no fewer than 800,000 people commit suicide yearly due to depression.
Professor Adeyemi, who spoke in Lagos at the presentation of the book Shadows in the Mirror: the Many Faces of Depression, written by Dr. Vivian Ikem, said the Mental Health Act, enacted in the 1900s, was last reviewed in 1959 despite medical improvements made over the years.
“Our laws should keep up with current situations, but we have remained static; the way we were in 1959,” Adeyemi said.
Adeyemi described the book as “spectacular,” praising the author for “coming to help” those in the field of psychiatry.
He said it was difficult to get depression patients to accept the fact of their illnesses.
The author, in her remarks, said having suffered from depression, she felt she needed to help others.
“I am happy that life gave me lemons, but I am able to make lemonade out of it,” she said.
According to her, many do not realize they were going through depression. She, therefore, called for more sensitivity and compassion for depressed persons.
