As we continue our conversation on men’s mental health this month, it is important to examine a growing concern that is quietly affecting many young men across Nigeria and around the world: the crisis of meaning. In my work with adolescents, young adults, and families, I increasingly meet young men who are not necessarily struggling Read More…
Wellness
Men’s Depression: The Silent Pain Many Nigerian Men Carry
As we mark Men’s Mental Health Month, I have chosen to dedicate this month’s column to exploring some of the common yet often overlooked mental health struggles faced by men in our society. While conversations around mental health have increased in recent years, many men continue to suffer in silence, often unnoticed until the consequences Read More…
When Saying “Yes” to Everyone Is Hurting Your Mental Health: The Healing Power of Healthy Boundaries
A few years ago, a young professional I will call Tunde sat in my office exhausted, frustrated, and emotionally drained. On paper, he appeared successful. He had a good job, supportive friends, and a close-knit family. Yet he constantly felt overwhelmed. His phone never stopped ringing. Family members relied on him for emotional support, financial Read More…
Healing Fatigue and Sleep Struggles: Practical Steps Toward Deep Rest
Over the past few weeks, I have been addressing the growing issue of fatigue among individuals and families living in fast-paced urban environments. We have explored how many people are functioning in survival mode for long periods of time, carrying emotional pressure, mental overload, financial strain, family responsibilities, and unresolved stress while still trying to Read More…
The Most Common Causes of Fatigue and How to Address Them
Why are so many people such as entrepreneurs, bankers, parents, medical professionals, and students constantly exhausted even after resting? Across Lagos and many urban cities today, fatigue has quietly become part of everyday life. The entrepreneur trying to keep a business afloat, the banker navigating endless targets, the parent carrying the emotional and financial responsibilities Read More…
Understanding Fatigue: Living Tired in a City That Never Slows Down
There are many people in Lagos waking up every morning already exhausted before the day even begins. They drag themselves through traffic, meetings, parenting, deadlines, religious activities, social obligations and endless expectations, while quietly wondering why their body feels heavier than it should. A woman I recently worked with, whom I will call Amaka (not Read More…
Why It’s So Hard to Let Go: The Hidden Emotional Patterns Behind Painful Relationships
The Surface Calm and the Deeper Struggle She sat across from me with a quiet composure that often masks deep emotional fatigue. On the surface, she was functioning—she had a stable job, showed up to her responsibilities, and kept life moving. But beneath that structure was a growing sense of heaviness she could no longer Read More…
When Anxiety Begins to Loosen Its Grip: Understanding the Small Shifts That Matter
A Quiet Turning Point If you are just coming across this column, it offers a real-life look into how anxiety unfolds and, more importantly, how it can begin to shift over time. Over the past weeks, we have been following Tolani (not her real name), a young woman in her early twenties, learning to navigate Read More…
The New Fitness Culture of Surulere
Best Gym and Fitness Centres in Surulere By Joy Mfon Essien In Surulere, fitness is no longer a quiet, solitary routine tucked into spare hours. It has become part of the district’s social rhythm — something you see on the streets at dawn, in packed gyms after work, and across weekend gatherings around the National Read More…
When Avoiding Anxiety Becomes the Real Struggle
Last week, I introduced you to Tolani, whose story quietly mirrors the lived reality of many young adults navigating uncertainty, pressure, and emotional overwhelm in our fast-paced urban spaces. She had left school abruptly, her routine disrupted, her sense of direction shaken. What followed was not just anxiety, but something deeper—an exhausting cycle of trying Read More…