“Depression is not a white man’s ailment as we were raised to think," she said. "It’s sad to know that at least 800,000 persons die by suicide each year. Depression that is not well-managed leads to suicide. If we as individuals do more to accept that people get depressed, we could curb the increase in suicides. Beyond the peripheral pleasantries we exchange with friend, colleagues and loved ones, we must learn to go beyond to lovingly find out how people are faring."
Mary Chinda, Nigerian journalist and author, has urged Nigerians dealing with depression to unmask their pain as this would help to bring them out of their depressed state.
Chinda, who has survived depression, made this known at a conference organised to celebrate her birthday.
The conference, titled ‘Dealing with Depression and Suicidal Thoughts’, was held in Lagos last week and was attended by Nollywood actress, Bimbo Akintola and child sexual abuse survivor Anthonia Ojenagbon, among others.
Explaining why she decided to organise the conference instead of throwing a big party to celebrate her birthday, she said she realised many people like to stay in their comfort zone rather than “move and stretch”. Mary, author of 'The Single Lady: Starting Over', shared her story on how she was able to come out of depression by unmasking her pain.
“Depression is not a white man’s ailment as we were raised to think," she said.
"It’s sad to know that at least 800,000 persons die by suicide each year. Depression that is not well-managed leads to suicide. If we as individuals do more to accept that people get depressed, we could curb the increase in suicides. Beyond the peripheral pleasantries we exchange with friend, colleagues and loved ones, we must learn to go beyond to lovingly find out how people are faring.
“This is what the Lord (God) would have me do right now. Someone has to stand up and own this dealing with depression/suicide campaign. More so, the increased suicide cases in Lagos break my heart. The recent Port Harcourt case of the man who killed his four children and committed suicide last week is equally disturbing. Suicide is never an option; it is not the first option, it is not the second and certainly not the last option.”
Speaking at the conference, Bimbo Akintola said the major job for humans is to give support to one another. The actress used a song by Ebenezer Obey to explain how everyone cannot be pleased.
“We need to stop victimising the victims. We don’t care about each other," she said.
"If you are a Christian, the next person will matter to you. Love thy neighbour as thy self. I think that is the hardest thing to do and we fail at it. What do you know about your neighbours? What do you about your friends? What do you know about your colleagues ? Your job as a human is to give support."
Also, Anthonia Ojenagbon, a child sexual abuse survivor, revealed how her mother refused to believe her when she told her how her uncle harassed her when she was still a child.
According to her, the support of her husband kept her going despite her several attempts to commit suicide.