Wake up, check your phone, and before you have even left your bed, there is already something to worry about. School fees, rising prices, exams, academic delays, finding a job, or seeing another job advert asking for years of experience for an entry-level position.
For many Nigerian students and young people, stress has become part of everyday life. Feeling anxious about the future can become so common that it is difficult to know when everyday pressure has started affecting mental health.
The Bigger PictureIt is not just about "coping better."
Young people are often told to be stronger, work harder or learn how to cope with stress. But mental health is not shaped by individual choices alone. The World Health Organization explains that mental health is influenced by social, economic and physical environments, and that social inequalities can increase the risk of mental-health problems.
For young Nigerians, these pressures can appear in different ways. Financial difficulties can make education harder. Academic pressure can create constant worry about grades and the future. Uncertainty about employment can make graduation feel less like an achievement and more like the beginning of another struggle.
There is also pressure to have everything figured out early. Young people may feel expected to perform well academically, become financially independent and build a successful future. When things do not go according to plan, frustration, fear and disappointment can follow.
- A student trying to pass examinations while worrying about school fees.
- Family expectations while figuring out what happens after graduation.
- Searching for work while dealing with financial uncertainty.
- Pressure to become independent while the ground keeps shifting.
WHO identifies adversity, poverty and other difficult social conditions as factors that can affect young people's mental health. It also notes that supportive environments at home, school and in the wider community can protect mental wellbeing.
This is why simply telling young people to "cope better" is not enough.
Coping skills can help, but they cannot remove the financial, academic and social conditions creating the pressure in the first place.
The Equity GapEven when you know you need help, help is not always there.
Even when young people recognise that they need help, getting that help is not always easy. Mental-health support may be difficult to find, unaffordable or surrounded by stigma.
WHO and UNICEF reported that access to mental-health services for children and young people remains inadequate globally. Their 2024 service guidance calls for stronger, more accessible services, including care that can be provided at community level.
Access to support should not depend on whether someone can afford private care, knows where to look, or feels safe enough to speak openly.
Universities, health institutions and other organisations therefore have a responsibility to make mental-health support affordable, confidential and easier to access. Support should also be available in places young people already use, including schools, universities and communities.
The ReframeMaking mental health part of public health.
Talking about mental health should become more normal. Young people should be able to say they are struggling without immediately being judged as weak, lazy or dramatic.
Mental health is part of public health. Supporting young people therefore requires more than encouraging individuals to become resilient. It also requires creating healthier environments, reducing barriers to care and addressing some of the social and economic pressures that affect wellbeing.
Young Nigerians are not weak because they are struggling. Many are trying to study, build careers and plan their futures while facing financial, academic and social pressures at the same time.
If these pressures are contributing to mental-health struggles, then the response cannot simply be to tell young people to "cope better." Universities, health institutions and other organisations also have a responsibility to make mental-health support affordable, confidential and easier to access. Talking about mental health should become more normal, so that young people do not feel ashamed to ask for support.
Mental health is part of public health, and if we genuinely want young people to thrive, we must look beyond how individuals cope and address the conditions that are making life so stressful in the first place.
If you are struggling, consider speaking with someone you trust, a qualified health professional, or an appropriate mental-health service in your area.