As a little girl, I was body-shammed for being too thin, the type of comments people made, moved me at some point to ask my Mom why I had such body size. I never really understood what was funny about how I looked that prompted most people to make fun of me. I couldn’t understand also, why people always chose/preferred my younger sister over me. All these crushed my self-esteem that I began to see no value in my life and would constantly think about dying and leaving the world for people who I believed did not need me in it. Amidst all these, I never found the right person to talk to about all the monologues going on in my head till I was introduced to an older woman, an Educationist with whom I share no blood relations but who saw something great in me that I didn’t know about. I remember how much she encouraged me throughout my teenage years but also being sincere about life’s challenges which according to her, were mostly temporary and would pass. She later became my role model and I still hold her words and teachings very dear.

Sometime in 2009, the bus conveying myself, four other students and two teachers to an event outside school locality, went into a summersault halfway through the journey. Since there were few of us in the bus, there was enough space. I remember asking my friend who was sitting beside me to scoot over so I could lay down for a nap. In split seconds, all I could hear above the gospel music playing in the bus was the screams of our female teacher and the driver who both lost their lives (God bless their souls). I came out with a fracture that rendered me incapable of walking for about 6 months. I had to be taught how to walk again after my leg healed because I didn’t know how to anymore. All attention was focused towards my physical recovery without any attention to my mental health which no one around had a broad knowledge of. 

Months after, I discovered that I was exhibiting symptoms of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the accident. I didn’t know who to speak about what I was experiencing for fear of it being termed ‘spiritual’ or shunned about bringing up an ‘unserious’ issue when there are several serious cases like people lying on hospital beds. I would get severely anxious whenever I knew I’d be going on a road trip, accompanied by uncontrollable negative thoughts about all that would go wrong. To crown it all, my heart would beat rapidly fast if I’m in any car and the same gospel song playing at the time of the accident comes up or if the driver increases speed. As time went by, through research and voracious reading on Mental health, I gained knowledge on how to help myself get over the negative symptoms I was experiencing. In addition to that, I learned how making positive affirmations could be of help as well. As time went by, I got better and travelling which I dreaded became something I grew to enjoy. 

Now broken free from the shell in which I was confined, I became passionate about encouraging people with my own stories. Truth is, the fight to preserve our mental health is a consistent one. There are experiences in work, relationships, family, etc. that threaten our mental health often. Getting over them all starts from being self-conscious and noticing things that affect our thinking, mood or behavior and seeking for ways to combat them. 

Both adults and children experience mental health issues and in children, its mostly caused when derogatory words are said to them or when several unnecessary comparisons are made between them and their peers. 

I was privileged to be among the selected few who are part of the Jela’s Development initiatives team. Seeing how seemingly uninterested people are in recent times regarding issues that involve caring for the spirit, soul, mind and body, I was a bit reluctant because I cared about what people would say. But then again, I remembered where I used to be, I remembered how much I yearned for emotional support, how much I needed someone who could listen to me and just understand me without judging. So, I made up my mind to join Angela who I know to be a woman of integrity and sincerity when I indirectly worked with her, and others, to give back to the society in our own little way by providing psychological, emotional and physical support to people going through several mental health challenges in the best way we can. And also, get better at being The one who listens to others.