The disease that Catholic priest Fr John Kaiser is reported to have suffered from is treatable, an expert said yesterday. Dr Max Okonji, a leading psychiatrist, yesterday said manic depression which is also known as bi-polar disorder, is easy to treat once it is identified early.
Manic depression is two diseases in one and manifests itself by altering a sufferer's mood swings.
In between the two extremes, Dr Okonji observed, the victim's mood remains normal. Dr Okonji observed that some victims actually implement their wishes through either drug overdose, suicide, or if they are armed, through shooting. The predisposing factors to a majority of manic depression cases, the expert noted, include the disease running within a family members' history, bio-chemical abnormalities occurring within the brain and sometimes occurring spontaneously. The condition, Dr Okonji said, is common in the country and afflicts one in every 100 people. Plusieurs Bless s Mon semainier moi.