M.I, DJ JIMMY JATT LIVE IN UMUAHIA, ABIA STATE.

Today, June 8th witnesses another great feat in Abia Entertainment sector as M.I (Mr Incredible), African no 1 DJ, Jimmy Jatt, Don Lulu, Hon. Eric Nwadinobi( S.A Diaspora Affairs,Ben Tv video), Question Mark Entertainment, Lagos, Alozie Alonze of Silver Bird's most beautiful girl & several upcoming artistes like, Eagle Badge etc thrill Abians to a night of fun. In the media stables, we have Sound City, Ben TV London.
It can be recalled that the Nation was recently thrown into mourning and something of this nature is welcome at least to brighten our faces, even in the face of mourning.

Abia's social life has come back to life. Abia Post was live to capture the event which not only is well attended, but successfully executed. All thanks to 2FLAME Entertainment, De Latinos Event Centre & night club and those who made this a reality. Once more, WELCOME TO ABIA STATE - LAND OF HOSPITALITY.

DEPRESSION PART 1 By Dr. Chin Akano

DEPRESSION PART 1

This series shall be looking at the most common psychiatric illness of our time, Depression. This illness is often so serious that a lot of people suffering from it have a lot of physical and psychiatric symptoms. This disease is also so important to talk about because it is the commonest cause of suicide worldwide. About 1 million people commit suicide every year so this disease is an epidemic. Apart from being the most common mental illness, depression is ranked as the fourth among all diseases by WHO.

In this part 1, i shall be explaining what depression is, the causes, the risk factors and the symptoms.

I will begin by asking us who we think can suffer from depression? is it the disease of only women, or the elderly? No, depression can affect men, women and adolescents and occasionally children. However it is commoner in women and those aged between 30 and 40 years followed by those aged between 50 and 60 years.

The next thing is to know what causes depression. Do we know how people become depressed? The answer is that the exact cause of depression is not known, however some experts believe that depression is caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Though no one knows the exact cause, there are however some factors and conditions that make some people more liable to developing depression than others. These are known as the RISK FACTORS.

So what are these risk factors for depression?

▪ Loneliness

▪ Lack of social support

▪ Recent stressful life experiences like bereavement, rape, serious accidents,
redundancy etc

▪ Family history of depression

▪ Marital or relationship problems

▪ Financial strain

▪ Early childhood trauma or abuse

▪ Alcohol or drug abuse

▪ Unemployment or underemployment

▪ Health problems or chronic pain

▪ female gender

▪ past history of depression

▪ other mental health problems like dementia



What are the symptoms of depression?

I like to say at this point that feeling down from time to time is a normal part of life and is not classed as depression. This is just temporary blues. Similarly it is normal for one to be sad from time to time that is also not depression.

For someone to be depressed, emptiness and despair must take hold of the person and refuse to go away making it very difficult for them to function and enjoy like they once did.

Hobbies and friends don’t interest them like they used to; they are exhausted all the time; and just getting through the day can be overwhelming and tasking to them.

For one to be diagnosed with depression: there must be at least these 2 cardinal symptoms
* The person must have a low mood for most of the times for at least 2 weeks
* The person must loose interest in things he used to enjoy. This again must be for most of the times for at least 2 weeks.
These symptoms should have been present persistently for at least 2 weeks and must have caused clinically significant distress and impairment for one to be said to be clinically depressed. It is also important to mention that these above symptoms must not be due to physical or organic reasons.
In addition to the above 2 cardinal symptoms, depressed patients may experience some or all of the following symptoms:
* Feeling tired so easily
* Appetite problems usually poor appetite but sometimes over eating
* Loss of concentration
* Loss of libido
* Erectile dysfunction in men
* sleep problems usually disturbed sleep. The classical pattern is early morning wakefulness where the patient wakes up quite early in the morning after struggling to fall asleep and then staying awake till morning. However some depressed patients may also suffer from over sleeping (hypersomnia)

* feeling hopeless
* feeling helpless
* Some may be agitated while others may become so slow and sluggish
* Some are unable to control their negative thoughts, no matter how much they try
*Some are quite irritable, short-tempered or more aggressive than usual
* Some drink more alcohol than normal and often engage in reckless behaviour.
* Some believe that life is not worth living
* Having a lot of physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.
▪ * Having very strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt criticizing themselves for perceived faults and mistakes.

* Some feel so miserable and sad

*some feel as if even the smallest tasks are sometimes impossible.

▪ *Some don't want to see people or are scared to be left alone. Social activity may feel hard or impossible.

▪ *Some find it difficult to think clearly.

▪ *Some feel that they are a burden to others.

▪ *Some indulge in self harm

▪ * Some take their lives (Completed suicide)


▪ Some signs that can tell you that one is depressed:

* Looking sad

* Unkempt

* dishevelled

* Always blaming themselves

* feeling that they are the worst

* Always lacking confidence

* avoiding eye contacts

* Talks in low tone and frequency

* Slow movements

* drinking a lot of alcohol to feel better

* Not sleeping at night or sleeping a lot

* Always tired

* isolating themselves

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming your way shortly

Thanks

WELCOME TO ISUIKWUATO

After thorough searches online for literatures on Isiukwuato, nothing much was written about them or their culture except this:

"Isuikwuato is a local government area in Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. It has an estimated population of over 50,000 people. Isuikwuato contains many natural resources like Iron ore, Kaolin etc. Oil lines flow throw Isuikwuato and there have been cases of burst pipe which have had severe effects on the local economy and environment. The major cash crops are palm oil and cassava. Isuikwuato is also home to Abia State University Uturu.
Isiukwuato people are predominantly Christians. Catholic, Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists dominate other denominations but others such as Assemblies of God has made inroad into the place. The Isuikwuato Christian Organisation (ISUCCO) has helped to evangelise the communities.
Lambert Ndukwe, who was one of the richest men in Nigeria in 1950's, known for stock fish importation from Norway and cotton exportation to Europe is from Isuikwuato"

Abia Post announces it's scheduled first physical meeting with Abia Senior Citizen. With the cooperation of our dear brother, Oforegbu Mike, we've concluded arrangements to interview our first ever Abia Senior Citizen, from Isuikwuato.

Knowing Isuikwuato for what it represents and having birthed notable personalities, we decided to visit the senior citizens themselves who we believe have much cultural information in their archive. It promises to be a worthwhile visit. Note that (ASCI) Abia Senior Citizens Interview, will be conducted across each LGA of Abia State.

We are still collating information on Abia Senior Citizens. Let us know who yours are. Email details to us @ abiapost@gmail.com.

Stay tuned for our first ever ASCI coiming your way soon.

INFERTILITY PART 2 By Dr. Chin Akano

WHAT CAUSES INFERTILITY IN WOMEN


Let us first discuss some basic facts that will help us understand this topic.

For a woman to think of conceiving, first she needs to have normal reproductive anatomy.

What do I mean?

I am trying to say that she needs to be born with the following:

* a vagina ( Note that some women are born without one while some have issues with theirs)

* Womb (uterus)

* Fallopian tubes (tubes) left and right (2)

* Ovary (ovaries) left and right (2)

Even when she is born with all of these organs, they have to be normal and functional.

In a nutshell any problem with vagina, or womb or tubes or ovaries could lead to infertility.

Let me give some examples

* Vagina: absent vagina, or blocked vagina etc would lead to infertility

* Tubes: excessively long or blocked or diseased tubes could lead to infertility

* Ovaries: ovaries riddled with cysts, or not producing eggs or diseased are likely to lead to infertility
* Uterus: abnormally shaped or narrowed womb or one with abnormal linings or muscles or riddled with fibroids, masses or even diseased may lead to infertility.

Let me now go ahead and explain the importance of these reproductive organs


Vagina: This is the organ necessary for sexual intercourse to occur. Following intercourse the man deposits semen into the vagina and it swims through the vagina to the fallopian tube.

What is semen?
This is the fluid deposited by a man following ejaculation or masturbation. It contains spermatozoa (sperm), prostatic fluid, pre-ejaculate, fructose, amino acid , etc. Lesson to take away is that a man may produce semen without sperm in it and his semen will therefore be unable to fertilize the eggs ( ova). That a man ejaculated and produced semen does not mean the semen contains sperm or potent or enough sperm to fertilise the egg(s)
So for a man’s semen to be fertile, it must contact spermatozoa and other necessary components.

After semen is deposited in the vagina, the sperm swims through and gets to the fallopian tube and meet with the eggs waiting there and then fertilization occurs and an embryo is formed. This embryo then undergoes all necessary changes in the womb to become the baby we wish for.

Ovaries:

Every woman should have 2 ovaries, one on the left and another on the right. It is the ovary that produces the eggs (ova) and this happens once every month. This process is known as ovulation.
Both ovaries take their turn to produce eggs every month. So a woman does not need both ovaries to conceive but for obvious reason having both ovaries increase your chance of conceiving.
Ovulation usually takes place on the 14th day of a woman’s cycle if she has a regular cycle of 28 days. For those with cycles longer or irregular, it is difficult to time their ovulation.


Many women know when they ovulate as their cycle is like a clock and therefore easily predictable, however many women have irregular cycles and unpredictable ovulation.

So how can a woman know that she is ovulating?

There are a few features that can help a woman know when she is ovulating. They include the following

* marginal rise in base body temperature

* some vaginal discharge

* sharp one sided abdominal pain

* increased craving to have sex

* abdominal bloating

* breast engorgement among others



Fallopian tubes ( 2 in number)

After ovulation, egg(s) also known as ovum(ova) are released and they find their way to the fallopian tube to be fertilized by a sperm (champion sperm).

After ovulation, the next thing is fertilisation. What is this?

This is the process where a sperm and egg join together to form an embryo.

Where does it take place? In the fallopian tube

So the gist is that after ovulation the eggs move from the ovaries to the fallopian tube while the sperm migrates from the vagina to the tube as well to fuse with the egg to form the baby.

After fertilization in the fallopian tube, the fertilized egg or embryo stays there for a few days and then gradually finds its way into the womb ( uterus). If for any reason the embryo is not able to find its way into the womb, the baby starts developing in the tube. This is known as ectopic pregnancy. As the tube is not suited to accommodate the growing baby, after a while the tube burst causing some of the fatal emergencies associated with ectopic pregnancy.
In essence ectopic pregnancy means a pregnancy developing outside the womb. Please note that it is not only in the fallopian tube that ectopic pregnancy can occur, it can also occur in the ovaries, the cervix and even the abdomen.

Womb (Uterus)

When the fertilized egg (embryo) succeeds to get into the womb, it then gets attached to the lining of the womb. This process is known as implantation.
After implantation the embryo stays in the womb and undergo all necessary changes until the baby is born.

In conclusion for a woman to be fertile, first she has to anatomically normal and all the necessary reproductive organs have to be functional and normal.

Furthermore anything that affects the reproductive cycle ranging from depositing of the semen in the vagina, to the migration of the sperm to the fallopian tube, to ovulation, to migration of eggs to the tube, to fertilization, to movement of the fertilized egg to the womb, to implantation of the fertilized egg to the development of the baby in the womb would lead to infertility in a woman.