Short answers, pulled from the story.
In 2019, depression alone affected 264 million people worldwide. The majority of these individuals never stepped foot inside a psychiatric hospital. This number represents a silent crisis where the most common mental disorders are defining features of modern life for hundreds of millions.
In ancient Mesopotamia, mental illness was not a medical condition but a divine intervention known as the Hand of Ishtar or the Hand of Shamash. These terms described psychological disturbances that were believed to be caused by specific deities. Mesopotamian doctors assigned spiritual meanings to symptoms like hallucinations rather than viewing them as signs of a broken brain.
In 1967, the psychiatrist David Cooper coined the term anti-psychiatry. This movement challenged the foundation of the field and argued that psychiatric treatments were ultimately more damaging than helpful. The movement gained momentum in the 1960s with figures like R.D. Laing and Thomas Szasz leading the charge.
In Nigeria, fewer than 10% of mentally ill people have access to a psychiatrist or health worker. The country has a population of 200 million people and an estimated 40 million to 60 million mentally ill individuals. This disparity highlights the global divide in mental health care where resources remain woefully inadequate.
In 2018, the American Psychological Association stated that biomarkers used in diagnosis should have a sensitivity of at least 80% for detecting a particular psychiatric disorder. The criteria also required a specificity of at least 80% for distinguishing this disorder from other psychiatric or medical disorders. The review concluded that very large studies are needed to evaluate specific biomarkers which were not available.