Unemployed youths likely to suffer depression – Psychiatrist

A Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Abiodun Adewuya, says unemployed youths in the country are likely to find themselves in a state of depression due to low self-esteem.

Adewuya, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, made this known on Monday in Lagos.
“An unemployed youth is likely to be one, who, when he wakes up in the morning there is nowhere to go.
“So, the first thing that will be affected will be his motivation.
“When an unemployed youth has a reduced motivation, what you are likely to have is a reduced self-esteem.
“So, when you have someone, who has a reduced motivation, leading to reduced self-esteem, these will have a link to reduced interaction, reduction in social lifestyle automatically it leads to depressed mood.
“Another one will be that for someone, who went to school, studied, got a degree and has not been able to get a job for quite a while, what you expect is a serious disappointment, not just in himself.
“He can be disappointed in either himself, his family or the society; it will automatically lead to low mood, which can be depression or it can lead him to react negatively against these disappointments.
“But it is very clear that more than half of people that finish from school stay at home for at least one year before getting any paid job.’’
The consultant, therefore, spoke of the need for government at all levels to meaningfully engage young people by creating employment opportunities.