Lifestyle

Homicide survivors require therapy to avoid trauma, depression – Psychologists

Published

11 months ago

October 7, 2025

Mental health experts have stated that witnesses and survivors of gruesome killings are at risk of anxiety and depression, and therefore require therapy to navigate the complex and traumatic experience.

They also noted that persons who repeatedly watch videos of shootings and violent happenings could suffer acute trauma, consequently leading to substance abuse.

The psychologists urged survivors and witnesses to undergo therapy and receive counselling from mental health experts to help them heal from the trauma caused by the event.

The American Psychological Association also highlights counselling, safe communication with children, and mental health support for survivors and witnesses of killings.

In September, about 15 vigilantes and hunters were killed when gunmen invaded the Oke-Ode Community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. In June, over 200 people were killed in the Yelwata area of Benue State, leaving hospitals and medical personnel overwhelmed with taking care of the wounded.

One of the survivors of the Kwara attack, Mrs Gbemisola Muhammed, also known as Yéyé Oge, the widow of a slain hunter, told The PUNCH she considered suicide after losing her husband and relatives to the attack.

Although videos of killings circulating on the internet are not new, the recent rise in gruesome incidents within and outside the country, with clips often shared widely online, emphasises the need for mental health awareness and care, experts say.

The recent viral circulation of graphic videos showing the fatal shooting of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk further highlights the hidden dangers of repeatedly watching such footage and the need for mental health care.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, while delivering a lecture at Utah Valley University in the United States.

The disturbing video of the incident, which captured the exact moment of impact, quickly flooded social media platforms.

The psychologists cautioned that replaying violent clips and constant exposure to such distressing scenes can lead to trauma, anxiety, emotional numbness or depression.

Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, a clinical psychologist, Dr Afolabi Aroyewun, has warned that repeatedly watching violent videos, including shootings, can trigger acute trauma, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and even suicidal thoughts among viewers.

Aroyewun, a senior lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Akoka, said both direct witnesses and those who view such clips are at risk of “acute psychological trauma” with far-reaching consequences.

He said, “Watching someone shoot another person and seeing the victim drop dead triggers acute trauma. It can lead to survivor’s guilt, hypervigilance, emotional detachment, over-processing of the event, and ultimately depression or anxiety. Some viewers may turn to substance abuse to cope with the unresolved trauma, while others develop suicidal ideation.”

The psychologist added that research abroad has shown a 25–30 per cent spike in the use of antidepressants after school shootings, underlining how violence leaves deep psychological scars on communities.

“Young people who have watched such violence often feel unsafe and hopeless,” he said.

Aroyewun further noted that beyond mental health impacts, repeated exposure to graphic violence could affect school performance and life outcomes.

“You start to see increased absenteeism, school dropouts, and poor academic results. Some of these young people end up struggling to maintain jobs or earn decent wages because their education has been disrupted,” he said.

He warned that entire communities also suffer collective trauma, grief, fear and mistrust when violence becomes frequent or widely shared online.

The psychologist urged families and communities to “come out clean” about the emotional and behavioural changes they notice in loved ones exposed to violent events or content to ensure they get the needed help.

“In this part of the world, we don’t see mental health issues as a serious issue. That’s because in Africa, anything we do not understand, we claim to be spiritual. So that’s the issue, but this time around, we need to come out clean for us to get the proper help,” he said.

Also, the Head of Clinical Psychology at Intersect Consortium, Dr Alexander Agara, emphasised the need for counselling for survivors.

“Some people have strong coping skills, and some don’t, but the truth is, they need therapy. If they have adequate psychotherapy, that would at least help prevent flashbacks of the traumatic experiences they have had.

“This would help to stabilise them and prevent it from leading to post-traumatic stress disorder,” Agara said.

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Lifestyle

🔥 A HARD QUESTION FOR CHRISTIAN WIVES: WHY DO YOU RESPECT YOUR PASTOR MORE THAN YOUR HUSBAND?

Published

14 hours ago

August 29, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Some wives can stand before their pastor with a gentle voice, a respectful attitude, and complete attention. They will never speak to their pastor the way they speak to their husband at home.

But when they get home, the respect disappears.

Is that really the kind of Christian character God wants?

Before you get angry with this question, examine yourself.

📖 Ephesians 5:33 (KJV) says:

“…and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

The Bible does not tell a wife to reverence her pastor while treating her husband with contempt.

But let us also be fair: God did not command husbands to demand respect while refusing to love their wives.

📖 Ephesians 5:25 (KJV):

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”

Marriage is not a competition between husband and pastor.

Your pastor may preach to you, counsel you, and pray for you—but your husband is the person you chose to build a life with.

If you can speak politely to your pastor, why can’t you speak politely to your husband?

If you can listen patiently to your pastor, why can’t you listen patiently to your husband?

If you can honor your pastor publicly, why must your husband receive disrespect privately?

And husbands, this message is for you too:

You cannot demand the respect you refuse to give.

📖 1 Peter 3:7 (KJV):

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife…”

A Christian home should not be a place where one person demands submission while the other refuses to show love.

Respect should go both ways. Love should go both ways. Honor should go both ways.

📖 1 Corinthians 16:14 (KJV):

“Let all your things be done with charity.”

🔥 THE REAL QUESTION IS THIS:

If your pastor saw the way you speak to your husband at home, would he recognize the same Christian character you display in church?

👇 BE HONEST:

Do you think some Christians give their pastor more respect than they give their spouse?

YES or NO? Tell us why in the comments.

And if this message challenged you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

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Lifestyle

WHEN MAJOR DECISIONS ARE KEPT HIDDEN, THE FOUNDATION OF A MARRIAGE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE

Published

14 hours ago

August 29, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Marriage is built on trust, honesty, communication, and unity. When one spouse begins making major decisions in secret—especially decisions involving money, family, relationships, property, or the future of the home—the damage can go deeper than the decision itself. Secrecy creates suspicion, suspicion weakens trust, and when trust disappears, the foundation of the marriage begins to crumble.

The Bible says:

“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”
— Ephesians 4:25 (KJV)

Husband and wife are no longer two separate people living independent lives; they have become one. Therefore, major decisions that affect the family should not be hidden from one another. Transparency is not weakness—it is a sign of respect and commitment.

The Bible declares:

“And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.”
— Mark 10:8 (KJV)

If a decision will affect your spouse, your children, your finances, your home, or your future, your spouse deserves to know. A marriage cannot remain strong when one person knows the truth while the other is deliberately kept in the dark.

Scripture also teaches:

“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.”
— Proverbs 14:15 (KJV)

Wisdom requires communication before action. Before making major decisions, husband and wife should sit down, talk honestly, listen to each other, pray together, and seek understanding. A decision made secretly may appear successful for a moment, but the consequences of broken trust can remain for years.

The Bible says:

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
— Amos 3:3 (KJV)

Agreement does not mean that husband and wife will always have the same opinion. It means they are willing to communicate, consider each other’s concerns, and work toward a common direction.

A marriage should not be a place where secrets are protected at the expense of trust. Privacy has its place, but deliberate secrecy about major matters can become destructive. If something is important enough to change the direction of the family, it is important enough to be discussed.

Remember:

A marriage does not usually collapse because of one big decision. Sometimes it begins to crumble through repeated secrecy, hidden actions, broken promises, and the gradual destruction of trust.

Therefore, husbands and wives should choose truth over deception, communication over silence, unity over selfishness, and wisdom over impulsive decisions.

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.”
— Ecclesiastes 4:9 (KJV)

If you want your marriage to remain strong, do not make your spouse a stranger to decisions that shape the life you are supposed to build together. Talk. Listen. Pray. Be honest. Build trust before the cracks become too deep to repair.

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Lifestyle

WHAT YOU DO IN SECRET CAN SHOUT IN PUBLIC

Published

21 hours ago

August 29, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Many people are careful about what they do when others are watching, but character is revealed by what a person does when nobody is watching. You may hide your actions from people, but nothing is hidden from God.

The Bible says:

“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”
— Luke 12:2 (KJV)

What you think is safely hidden today may become tomorrow’s testimony. Secret lies, secret corruption, secret betrayal, secret immorality, and secret wickedness may remain unknown to people for a while, but they do not remain hidden forever.

Numbers 32:23 warns:

“Be sure your sin will find you out.”
— Numbers 32:23 (KJV)

Therefore, do not live two different lives—one before people and another behind closed doors. Do not build a public reputation while secretly destroying your character.

Jesus also said:

“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”
— Matthew 10:26 (KJV)

The best protection against public shame is private integrity. Do what is right even when nobody can see you. Speak the truth when lying would benefit you. Be faithful when nobody is checking. Refuse what is wrong even when you know you could get away with it.

God sees what people cannot see:

“For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.”
— Job 34:21 (KJV)

Remember, reputation is what people know about you, but character is who you really are when the doors are closed.

If you have something in your secret life that you would be ashamed for the whole world to discover, do not wait until it is exposed. Correct it now. Turn away from wrongdoing and choose righteousness.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
— Proverbs 28:13 (KJV)

What you do in secret can eventually shout in public. Therefore, live in such a way that your private life will not contradict your public image. Let your character be clean when nobody is watching, so you will have nothing to fear when everything is brought to light.

Live right. Be honest. Keep your heart clean. What is hidden from people is never hidden from God.

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