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One social problem that has become more frequent during this scourge of COVID-19 is violence.

You must have viewed graphic videos of violent acts that are directly or indirectly related to the pandemic. Some places have reported deaths from COVID-19 induced conflicts before even reporting their index case of actual infection of the virus.

Some countries have reported an upsurge in the incidence of domestic violence and spousal abuse. There is also widespread gross abuse of human rights displayed by security agents who physically deliver corporal punishment on people across all ages in their bid to enforce the “stay at home” order pronounced by their government.

I saw a grim video of two men somewhere in Nigeria who decided to physically resolve the conflict between their wives by fighting themselves with bottles and sticks; fatally injuring themselves in the process. It was a bloody scene!

Some communities are also witnessing a rise in organized brigandage perpetuated by gangs led by persons they are not unfamiliar with. These gangs have been violently dispossessing people of their belongings, while the government and the lawful security personnel have not given the citizens the succor that they are constitutionally charged to deliver. Currently, citizens of some countries are carrying out protests motivated by the desire to discontinue the lockdown. Their peaceful protests may eventually become violent if their demands are not adequately addressed.

There is a need for us to address this issue of violence before it begins to get out of hand.



Persons who have had conflicts at arms’ length are now locked down together for long hours. The frustration of being locked down mixed with the recurrent frictions as a result of unresolved differences can trigger off physical confrontations between persons who are previously prone to physically engage themselves.
Violence is a global phenomenon that is propagated by personal dispositions. It may be practiced as a way of communicating distress or exercising authority when the culture and the norms of the society accommodate such behavior.

Kindly follow the link to read more.
http://safeandsane.org.ng/2020/04/20/covid-19-related-violence-stemming-the-tide/

http://safeandsane.org.ng/2020/04/06/fake-news-testing-the-boundaries-of-reality-in-the-covid-19-pandemic-part-2/
For the continuation!!!

As we continue the war against the COVID-19 Pandemic, a relevant battle in this war will be the one we have to fight against fake news.

While it is a good thing that we have access to information and can disseminate the same easily, we must consider the flip side; the possibility of disseminating false information which can negatively influence people’s feelings, thoughts and behavior.
In the transfer of news or other information, we need to consider the source, the medium of transfer and the receiver of the information. If the source of the information is someone biased, deluded, misinformed or compromised, the information given out can be false, misrepresented or adulterated. When this is presented as news (through whatever medium), it takes a receiver who is knowledgeable, unbiased, mentally/emotionally stable and analytical to be able to sift the chaff from the wheat.

As the scourge of the pandemic keeps evolving, the reality is that the entire world is dealing with a major health crisis that the greatest of all nations were not prepared for.

As the scourge of the pandemic keeps evolving, the reality is that the entire world is dealing with a major health crisis that the greatest of all nations were not prepared for. In January 2020, when the news of the potentially lethal transmissible virus broke out fully, the global world powers never anticipated that a Wuhan (Chinese) problem was going to become a major problem for the entire world. Otherwise, they would have rolled out many of the strict measures they eventually put in place much earlier. Many doubted the source and considered unreliable the explanation(s) given for the cause and the course of the illness associated with the new infection. This paved the way for the virus to stay several steps ahead of our weak health systems, challenging the concept of theoretical universal health coverage that is designed to be “reactive” rather than “proactive”. These doubts have given rise to the dissemination of fragmented information about COVID-19 from seemingly credible sources. This fragmented information has continued to be the snippets of materials being recycled and propagated as News about COVID-19.

How and Why of Fake News

Fake news can be synthesized around an actual incident or event. It can also be a figment of someone’s imagination or fictitious creative writing around actual persons or places. I am sure you might have read various stories about China, Wuhan, Italy, the Pope, Trump and the relationships between the superpowers in the context of the current pandemic. In the advent of the incidents of the infection in Nigeria, I am sure you would have read or heard about some high profile individuals getting infected or transmitting the infection.
Some of the persons who create these contents do so to drive traffic to their websites. Others do it as a means of embarrassing some persons for other secondary gains.

some creators of fake news content might be inspired by delusional thought processes.

Through the analysis of the content of some fake reports, it appears that some creators of fake news content might be inspired by delusional thought processes. While the definition of a delusion excludes beliefs that are shared upon a common background of religious or other ideological foundations, some thought processes are delusional in composition with ideas that cross the boundaries of reality into fantasy.

Specific means of creating fake news content include; false/irrelevant sensational headlines, video editing to misrepresent or misinform and quoting people out of context (text or video).

Specific means of creating fake news content include; false/irrelevant sensational headlines, video editing to misrepresent or misinform and quoting people out of context (text or video).
When we are challenged by stressors, we need to adopt coping mechanisms to reduce the effect of the stressor and to minimize the stress that we might experience psychologically and physically. The psychological stress can be manifested in terms of feeling anxious or sad while the physical stress can be seen in generalized weakness and a breakdown of our immune system. Rather than accommodate the feelings of anxiety or sadness that will accompany the reality of the stressor, some individuals exhibit what I call “the ideal truth phenomenon (ITP)”.

Simply put, the ITP is a “Lie”. These persons choose to create an imagined much more acceptable version of the story which persons with limited information about the subject matter will find reasonable and acceptable. Such versions can be modified from time to time to suit different listeners or audiences. It helps them reduce the negative emotions associated with the reality of the truth. The challenge is that a lot of people who are not well informed or persons who share some of the sentiments that the primary source of the ideal truth has can begin to propagate the misinformation as reliable news.
Stressors like bad news or information that challenge our wellbeing need to be resolved by practical coping skills that are targeted towards addressing the specific source of the challenges or minimizing the impact of the threat on us.

Before you start troubling yourself with the number of respirators in Nigeria, please wash your hands with soap and clean water; stay at home and adopt al other strategies recommended by credible sources on health-related matters.

Stay Safe and Sane!!!

To be continued..........................
http://safeandsane.org.ng/2020/04/04/fake-news-testing-the-boundaries-of-reality-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/

The greatest challenge most of us have to contend with during this COVID-19 induced lockdown and restriction of movements is how to achieve a state of “mental reset”.

Having to deviate from our daily active routines to a situation of arrested mobility can create in us a psychological state of “cognitive dissonance”. Simply put, cognitive dissonance is a state of psychological stress experienced when an individual is compelled to participate in an action that contradicts their beliefs, ideas or values.

Simply put, cognitive dissonance is a state of psychological stress experienced when an individual is compelled to participate in an action that contradicts their beliefs, ideas or values.




We are all compelled to deviate from our daily routine and stay away from the people and the places we love. This is emotionally challenging.

A lot of people are exploring all avenues to break away from the regimented lifestyle. Others are looking at ways of ventilating their pent up emotions. That is probably one of the reasons why there was a massive backlash when a popular actress threw caution to the winds by promoting the “washing of hands and staying at home” on one hand and throwing a house party that would be impossible without violating the lifestyle she was supposed to be promoting on the other hand.

She mistakenly aggravated the stress of the people by putting further strain on the “cognitive dissonance” they were all trying to cope with. The revolt was spontaneous!

We need to press our “mental reset button”.

We need to rearrange our routine and set new priorities for ourselves. The new priorities must be achievable within our current reality and must focus on optimizing our mental health and overall wellbeing.

We can improve our mental health during this lockdown if we consciously choose to promote our mental health within the realities of our current status, and the limitations that come with it.

Our overall health is directly related to our mental health. Our mental health is also a product of our lifestyle which includes our diet, level of physical activity, attention to physical health & hygiene, habits and relationships (family and social).

I know some of us have been trying to avoid junk food and maintain a healthy diet; this is another opportunity to be in control of what you have to eat.
This is the time to quit smoking and cut down or completely stop your alcohol consumption! These two habits have negative consequences.
For those of us who have been too busy to rest, and we have been told several times that "you are overworking yourself"; this is the opportunity to rest and recuperate. Specifically, my brother and others who have to travel from Lagos mainland to Lagos Island daily; monitoring traffic and plotting travel routes, enjoy this healthy break from your daily routine. Allow your body and spirit to recuperate and be revived.
We gain a lot from sleeping adequately. We also lose a lot from not sleeping adequately. For your mental health, it is not out of place for you to sleep refreshingly. It will enhance your mental health. Read more on sleep.

One of the mental health gains you must not miss out on is “feeding and strengthening” your mind.

This is best done by reading. I am purposely focusing on “reading” and not “seeking information”. Reading has a lot of practical benefits. Asides from the fact that we get informed by reading useful material, reading enhances the connectivity of our brain cells. It also helps us to be empathetic, reduces our stress and also protects us from age-related cognitive decline. Avoid reading fake and toxic news!!! You can read my previous article on this topic.
Another relevant means of strengthening your mind is through prayer and meditation.

For those of us who are spiritual and have been having interferences with our connection with our God due to our busy routine (and this has been given us some anxiety), this is another opportunity to revive our spirituality and renew our connection.

Interpersonal relationships and bonding with our family can also be improved during this lockdown.

Bonding and enhanced connectedness between parents and their children, spouses or family members, have mutual benefits for all. Misunderstandings will give way to understanding; a conflict will give way to an agreement while discord will give way to harmony. All these will reduce the anxiety and negative emotions associated with such ill-feelings within the home.

This is the best time to improve your relationship with the persons who are significant to you! It will improve your mental health and wellbeing.

In my clinical duties as a mental health professional, I have found out that improving the relationship between my clients and their family members (when feasible) contributes positively to the outcome of my intervention.

You have to review your work goals and targets. Any normal person knows that organizational targets have to be revised. Without compromising on the vision of your organization, you need to revise your targets based on the reality of what is currently going on. Nations are reviewing their budgets and projections. Everybody is involved directly. Pursuing previous targets in this lockdown will be unreasonable and counterproductive when the lockdown is reversed. It will put you and others you work with under emotional tension during and after this lockdown. It will be damaging to your mental health.

Above all, be physically active (In-house work out), be mentally productive and spiritually energized for the rest of this lockdown.

Try everything possible to keep yourself safe and sane through this experience.

Please, wash your hands obsessively, maintain a safe physical distance in unavoidable social interactions and keep away from fake news!!!

Better still...."STAY AT HOME" for as long as necessary!!!

Feel free to share this and share your thoughts as well!
http://safeandsane.org.ng/2020/04/08/mental-health-gains-from-the-covid-19-lockdown/

julianadada:
Hello everyone, I have a toxic bullying adult child that all he does is to curse and threaten ,he is 37 years old and still lives with me and my husband, he has gone in and out of schools and does not have a form of tertiary education despite the fact that the father and I have, he hit his father about 2 different times before while living with us and still lives with us, he does not have any job, and does not want to get one, all he does is sells hemp and smoke too, My 2 other children are doing very well of very good professions and highly responsible, I wont say I've been an enabler,We raised his other siblings I think he just wants to be wayward and be influenced badly.I am in my sixties and just want to live the rest of my life in peace , the father has decided to leave him without any inheritance , I have noticed all he does is harass and threaten helpless people like the aged parents and younger children , good advice is highly appreciated

Your son might actually be ill and need medical help as soon as possible. It's safer for him to undergo clinical psychological assessment.

I am interested. in Osun state

650?

Hi bros.
I need ur sincere help. What can i get with a budget of 1.2M. That will get the vehicle to me in Ilesha. I am not fixated on any make or speck. Just something within 8 years range.
Thanks.

Price pls?

900?

800k?? Seriously speaking.

Post engine pix and lets see if i can do 1.05. VERY VERY SERIOUS buyer.
you can inbox me.

How do i get this? I am in Ilesha.