Mental patients or those who are commonly referred to in Cameroon as “mad” people are a common sight in almost every community. The situation of mental patients demands great concern and care from their families. Yet, the attitude of certain siblings and the public tends to compound the situation.

Abandonment By Family

Many mental patients, even those in the early stages of their disorders or diseases, tend to be abandoned by their families. This might be explained by the fact that many people find it embarrassing to identify with mad people. Abandonment is in different forms – not bothering about the patients’ nutritional and clothing needs or even sheltering them.

Overwhelmed Families

On the other hand, while the family members might be willing to help, the gravity of the illness makes it almost impossible for them to offer any assistance to mental patients. This is often as a result of the violent nature of the disease that keeps relatives off the patients or drives them into the streets.

Stigmatisation Of Patients

The tendency by society to quickly brand any mental disorder as “madness” has in no little measure contributed to hindering proper care and treatment of victims. Stigmatisation only helps in distancing mental patients from those who could offer assistance. The result is that mental patients tend to be considered as people who ventured into mysticism or witchcraft and are thus being paid back in their own coin. Of course, this is not always true as some mental disorders arise from smoking Indian hemp or stress as a result of misfortune or failure in life.

“Healers” Who Cannot Help

In the face of mental illness, families are often quick to resort to traditional healers and spiritualists for solution. And most often, some of these “healers” only take advantage of the haplessness of relatives of patients to make fast money, knowing very well that their “treatment” will not heal nor cure the victims. On the other hand, relatives who are unable to find genuine and capable ministers of God to deliver their patients easily give up or resort to charlatans.

Absence Of Qualified Staff, Facilities

Above all, the lack of competent or even basic treatment staff and facilities for mental diseases in most parts of the country does not help matters. This means mental patients often do not have any option but to live out their fate as abandoned and long-forgotten members of their families until death.