Psychiatrists have advised Nigerians to avoid borrowing beyond their repayment capacity, warning that mounting debts and pressure from creditors could expose them to psychological distress and mental health problems.
The experts said the burden of repaying loans amid rising living costs could trigger persistent anxiety, emotional distress and other mental health challenges in debtors.
The psychiatrists, however, stressed the need for people experiencing financial difficulties to seek help rather than allow debt-related worries to overwhelm them.
The experts stated this while reacting to the latest Economic Report of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which stated that Nigerians now borrow more.
In the report, personal loans obtained by Nigerians rose to an estimated N2.06tn in May 2026.
The figure, calculated from data contained in the CBN’s May 2026 Economic Report, represents about 64.78 per cent of the N3.18tn total consumer credit outstanding during the month.
The apex bank said consumer credit increased by 1.60 per cent from N3.13tn in April to N3.18tn in May, indicating that Nigerians borrowed an additional N50bn within one month.
“Consumer credit outstanding increased by 1.60 per cent to N3.18tn from N3.13tn in the preceding month, driven by growth in personal and retail loans, which rose by 1.98 and 0.90 per cent, respectively. Personal loans remained the dominant component of consumer credit, accounting for 64.78 per cent, while retail loans constituted 35.22 per cent,” the CBN report read.
With rising personal loans, the psychiatrists said that, with economic pressures already affecting people’s psychological well-being, Nigerians should not compound it with loans that could trigger mental stressors.
A professor of psychiatry at the University of Jos, Plateau State, Taiwo Obindo, told PUNCH Healthwise that inability to repay loans could trigger mental health illness in debtors.
He said, “Well, the obvious response would be yes, it definitely can. It would act as a stressor, and when people cannot find solutions, the stressor develops into a crisis.
“A lack of a solution to repay the loan can impact an individual’s sleep, and when sleep is affected, it can degenerate into a major mental illness. People feel unhappy, and if that unhappiness becomes severe, it can meet the clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition.
“But largely, people in such a cycle will be distressed. We refer to this as the ‘distressed group’, meaning they may not have a mental illness yet, but they exhibit symptoms of mental illness—such as difficulty with sleep, difficulty with appetite, and low mood—which are not severe enough or lasting long enough to meet a full diagnosis.
“However, when these symptoms persist over time, people can certainly develop a mental health condition.”
Obindo, who is the immediate past president of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria, urged Nigerians to protect their mental health by avoiding loans.
“The major thing is that, as much as possible, people should avoid taking loans from loan sharks. They are unethical in the way they relate to people and recover their funds.
“People’s pictures, data, and personal information have been wrongfully used by these loan sharks, and some have even gone to the extent of physically abusing defaulters,” he said.
According to him, with the current situation of things in the country, ceteris paribus does not hold; not all variables are set equal.
Obindo advised Nigerians against resorting to alcohol or drug use when they start losing sleep over loans they could not meet their repayment plan.
“If you develop symptoms like difficulty sleeping, do not just counter it with drugs—do not go to a chemist and ask for sleeping tablets, and do not start drinking or using substances. Those are immature ways of handling such a stressor.
“The best thing to do is to see a professional, such as a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist. Seeing a psychiatrist does not mean you are ‘mad’; it is simply a way to get support and help,” he said.
He also urged Nigerians to be open about their loan defaults to parents, partners, spouses, or trusted individuals.
“What we want to avoid is hiding the problem from our parents, partners or spouses, because eventually, it is our parents or partners who may end up sorting it out, or the stress might overwhelm the individual in debt,” he said.
Also, a Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Samuel Aladejare, said failure to repay personal loans could affect people’s mental health.
He said, “Most of these personal loans people take are more about filling the gap in their income because of the state of the economy. Basic things have become expensive, and people are taking these loans to bridge the gap.
“These are social and environmental issues that can eventually affect people’s mental health. When people cannot repay their loans and have loan collectors breathing down their necks and sending them messages, this will definitely affect their mental health.
“Anything that affects anybody’s dignity could eventually affect their mental well-being. It could lead to low moods, and they could become depressed because of this kind of situation.”
According to him, some people are contacted regularly by creditors through phone calls to recover their money, and when this happens repeatedly, after some time, they begin to become afraid of the phone itself.
“Every time their phone rings, they may become fearful, and anxiety can arise from that,” he said.
Aladejare, however, urged Nigerians to live within the limits of the resources they have.
“It may be in our best interest to be more financially prudent and do the best we can to keep our spending within the limits of our resources. Despite everything going on, we should try as much as possible not to allow desperation to push us into the hands of loan sharks who offer loans at very exorbitant rates,” he said.
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