Talking about how depression feels can be scary. We meet a young Nigerian who tells us about her symptoms of depression and how she mastered them: With the help of friends and family and by focusing on things she enjoys.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Have you ever been in a place that's crowded,
00:04 surrounded by people such as this,
00:06 but at the same time, you still feel alone,
00:09 sad, or misunderstood?
00:11 I want to tell you that you're not alone,
00:13 and I'm on my way to meet a friend
00:16 who has been in this situation,
00:17 and I want you to join me on this journey
00:20 so that we can find out how things really feel
00:22 from her perspective.
00:24 Let's go.
00:25 (upbeat music)
00:29 (upbeat music)
00:31 Hey.
00:43 - Hey.
00:44 - What's up?
00:45 - I'm good.
00:46 - So guys, today we're going to be talking about depression
00:48 in this, you know, very public,
00:50 but at the same time, very private space.
00:52 We had to bring it down here
00:53 so that we can have this unfiltered conversations,
00:56 you know, conversations that need to be had.
00:58 I know it's been a, you know, difficult time for you,
01:02 but how did you know that you had depression?
01:06 - All right, I'll go back to when I was in school.
01:10 I'm a perfectionist.
01:11 I'm someone that, yeah, I like everything in order,
01:15 and it was like my life was going out of order.
01:17 I had two missing scripts and one carry over.
01:22 So I think I was broken, and it really affected me.
01:26 When I was experiencing that, I didn't know
01:28 what was happening to me.
01:29 It was like I was in a dark place,
01:31 and I didn't know where the door was
01:33 to get out of the room.
01:34 That's how it felt.
01:36 I couldn't sleep.
01:37 I dreaded going to school.
01:39 I dreaded waking up, and I was always unhappy,
01:41 coupled with the fact that back at home, things were not,
01:44 my family was struggling financially,
01:46 and there were a lot of money issues.
01:49 So it was weighing heavy on me.
01:52 - So the thing about depression is it can look different
01:54 to different people, from loss of pleasure,
01:56 loss of interest in activities, lack of self-worth.
02:00 But at the same time, experts have claimed
02:02 that high levels of chronic stress can trigger depression.
02:07 But then again, in so many people,
02:09 traumatic events such as violence, abuse,
02:12 and loss can trigger depression.
02:14 So reach out.
02:17 How did other people see you?
02:20 How did they react towards you?
02:24 - I had this friend.
02:25 We're close.
02:26 She knew what I was going to do.
02:27 I'll call her name, I'll say,
02:28 just hug me and tell me everything's gonna be okay.
02:31 So we have this culture of dying in silence.
02:33 You know, something's eating us up,
02:35 but because we don't want to appear weak,
02:37 we decide not to talk about it.
02:38 - How did you get help in all of this?
02:41 - By this time, I had come across a book by Josmea
02:47 that talked about depression.
02:49 So now I'm a makeup artist,
02:50 and I'm also a mental health anesthesist.
02:54 I didn't mention earlier,
02:55 I actually took a course that was very therapeutic for me,
02:58 a mental health course.
03:00 And I can say that it gives me the opportunity
03:04 to help people, which I find very fulfilling.
03:07 - Nkeruka and I are going to, you know,
03:08 take some questions from the DW community.
03:11 And Mostafa Inua from Bauchi, Nigeria asks,
03:16 is there a category of persons,
03:19 particularly in terms of age,
03:21 who are at risk of depression?
03:24 So Mostafa, if you're watching this,
03:27 there are a couple of risk factors.
03:29 There's family, there's genetics, you know,
03:32 sometimes depression could run in families.
03:35 Sometimes it could be environmental factors.
03:37 I think someone even said a lot of the depression
03:40 that we're having in this country.
03:41 - Has to do with poverty, no money.
03:43 - And I can understand that.
03:45 Sometimes your personality could even come into,
03:49 especially people who have, you know,
03:52 have low self-esteem.
03:53 - Yeah, teenage people.
03:54 - You know, sometimes they get on social media,
03:57 especially social media now,
03:58 and you see things happening for other people.
04:01 They don't seem to be happening for you.
04:03 - Exactly.
04:04 - You know, I think this is the point where, you know,
04:07 you could remind us again on how you made it out.
04:11 - I think I owe it to my relationship with God.
04:14 Secondly, I read a lot.
04:16 And I think reading transports you
04:19 from your immediate world to another world.
04:22 So let's say you're reading a book on hope.
04:24 You begin to feel hopeful.
04:25 I journaled a lot too.
04:27 Journaling helps me now track my triggers,
04:30 know why I'm feeling like this at this point.
04:33 I was more vocal.
04:34 I talked about it.
04:35 - I like that.
04:36 - Yeah, so when I have issues,
04:37 I don't think it's wrong to talk about it with someone.
04:41 I'm not afraid to appear weak.
04:44 I get easily vulnerable.
04:46 - I am so happy for you.
04:48 - Thank you.
04:49 (laughing)
04:51 (upbeat music)
04:54 - So guys, if you're watching this,
05:04 I want you to know that you're not alone
05:05 in the battle against depression.
05:07 But the good news is there are solutions.
05:10 Find a community, find someone you can trust to talk to.
05:13 And I hope this encourages you
05:14 to share your mental health journey with us or with anyone,
05:17 but just speak up about it.
05:19 And I'm going to see another friend.
05:22 Hope you join me.
05:23 I'll see you then.
05:24 (upbeat music)
05:26 (upbeat music)