BY Jesusegun
Alagbe
At the height of his battling
depression, Mr Olakunle Oladejo (not real name) said he could literally hear
voices whispering to his ears to jump into the lagoon on the Third Mainland
Bridge.
For months, Oladejo, a mechanical
engineer at one of the engineering firms at Lekki, Lagos, said he battled to
suppress the voices telling him that all was over and to commit suicide.
If he had not got support from family
and friends, as well as church members, the 43-year-old father of two said he
might have succumbed to the pressure weighing him down.
It all started sometime in 2016 when
Oladejo was introduced into an oil and gas importation business by two friends.
Obviously, the business initiative by his friends was captivating and the
mechanical engineer could not resist investing in it. Together, they were to
raise N150m for the new venture.
Oladejo said, “I practically emptied
my bank account to get N10m. Then, I borrowed N40m from the bank, friends and
family members to realise my own part of the capital, which was N50m.
“My friends were in Port Harcourt and
they were quite familiar with the Niger Delta terrain; they were to raise the
remaining N100m. When I got my N50m, I sent it to them.”
That day when he reached home in the
Ogudu area of Lagos, Oladejo said he was already anticipating that within two
weeks, they would have invested in the business and within six months, he would
get a profit of at least 150 per cent from it.
“I was already showing my wife the new
BMW car and a house I would buy from the profit. I was expecting her to be
happy, but she struggled to be. She simply told me to let the profit be
realised first,” he said.
As if his wife had a premonition that
the business would flop, Oladejo said he waited endlessly in vain to get
feedback from his friends two weeks after sending N50m.
To his amazement, the phone numbers of
his friends no longer went through. Emails were not responded to. Also,
contacts could not be made on social media. Oladejo was getting unsettled.
By the time he knew what was going on,
the mechanical engineer realised he had been “scammed” by his friends. It was
after involving the police in the matter that his friends said they invested
the money in the business but it flopped.
“They explained they were swindled,
too. I had to travel frequently to the state during the crisis, but all my
efforts were to no avail,” Oladejo said.
Two years after the incident, the
engineer said it got to a point he was driving to and fro work via the Third
Mainland Bridge and would be contemplating suicide.
He said, “The voices telling me to
jump into the lagoon became stronger towards the end of 2018. I would hear
words like, ‘Dejo, you owe N40m, you can’t repay it. Jump into the lagoon and
end it all. You can’t pay back when dead.’
“I used to cry every time this
occurred. It was like I was losing myself. The thought of turning my wife to a
widow and my children to fatherless kids probably helped. In addition, I later
sought help from professional counsellors.
“Although I am still in debt, I am
hopeful I will pay all. I have already pleaded with my lenders, including those
who threatened to arrest me and seize some of my assets, to be patient with me.
I am paying back gradually.”
From Oladejo’s conversation with our
correspondent, it was evident he had been able to suppress the voices telling
him to commit suicide.
“I just want to be strong for my
family’s sake. It’s not the end of life,” he added.
Depression in Nigeria
According to an April 2018 study by
the Mind, Behaviour and Development Unit of the World Bank, about 22 per cent
of Nigerians, amounting to 40 million people, are chronically depressed.
The study looked at the first
nationally representative estimates of chronic depression in the country to
shed light on how it might be linked to economic outcomes.
The Washington, DC, United
States-based institution said depression was associated with factors such as
conflict and socioeconomic factors.
It added that depression, especially
at the chronic stage, could have negative consequences.
Battling depression naturally
According to the Harvard Medical
School, depression is not only hard to endure, it is also a risk factor for
heart disease and dementia – which is why persons going through it should seek
help to come out of it.
“Depressive symptoms can occur in
adults for many reasons. If you are experiencing mood or cognitive changes that
last more than a few weeks, it’s a good idea to bring this up with your doctor
or consult a mental health specialist to help sort out possible causes,” an
instructor in psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, Dr Nancy Donovan, said.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, a clinical
psychologist and lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun
State, Mr Oladotun Adeyemo, identified some natural ways of coping with
depression.
1.
Try to have fun
Adeyemo said, “Depression is
characterised by sadness and makes people lose interest in what gives them
pleasure. Still, one of the things a depressed person can do is to schedule
pleasurable activities for themselves.
“If they love going to the movies,
watching live bands, visiting people, attending religious programmes and so on,
they should try to still go for such pleasurable activities. This is a way out
of depression when it is at a mild stage.”
Also, in an article posted on healthline.com,
a psychiatrist and director of the Depression Research and Clinic Programme at
the University of California, Los Angeles, US, Dr Ian Cook, said depressed
people should make time for things they enjoy.
“When you’re depressed, you can lose
the knack for enjoying life. You have to relearn how to do it. In time, fun
things really will feel fun again,” he said.
2.
Move your body
Adeyemo said, “Physical activities
like exercise can also help a depressed person feel good. This can be termed
‘feel-good’ therapy. It is important.”
Cook also said, “Exercise temporarily
boosts feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Regular exercise seems to
encourage the brain to rewire itself in positive ways. You don’t need to run
marathons to get a benefit. Just walking a few times a week can help.”
3.
Meditate
American psychiatrist who researches
into natural treatments for depression, Dr Lissa Rankin, advised depressed
people to engage in meditation, saying it could help shift the mood from
negativity to positivity.
“Meditation’s effects on mood are
well-documented. Settling your mind can lift your mood, in addition to a whole
host of other health benefits,” she wrote in Psychology Today.
Also, Adeyemo said, “There are mind
relaxation techniques for depressed persons like just closing their eyes and
having a deep breath. This can bring a whole lot of relief.”
4.
Set daily routine and goals
According to Cook, setting a daily
routine and goals can help depressed people have their lives back.
He said, “Setting a daily schedule can
help you get back on track.
“When you’re depressed, you may feel
like you can’t accomplish anything. That makes you feel worse about yourself.
To push back, set daily goals for yourself.”
5.
Don’t skip meals
Losing appetite and skipping meals are
all the results of depression, but experts said skipping meals could reduce
blood sugar level which could have serious health implications.
Cook and Rankin advised people with
depression to eat healthy foods, especially serotonin-enhancing foods because
they act as anti-depressants.
“Although it’s not definitive, there’s
evidence that foods with omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon, herring, mackerel
and tuna) and folic acid (such as spinach and avocado) could help ease
depression,” Cook said.
Meanwhile, Rankin cautioned depressed
people against taking caffeine because “it reduces serotonin levels.”
6.
Challenge negative thoughts
Cook said, “In your fight against
depression, a lot of the work is mental – changing how you think. When you’re
depressed, you leap to the worst possible conclusions.
“The next time you’re feeling terrible
about yourself, use logic as a natural depression treatment. It takes practice,
but in time you can beat back those negative thoughts before they get out of
control.”
7.
Seek counsel
Rankin advised depressed people to see
a therapist, psychiatrist or life coach to express how they feel.
“Sometimes, just finding someone you
trust who will help you work through your feelings can make all the difference
in the world,” she said.
Buttressing the point, Adeyemo said
when it got to a level when a depressed person was losing sleep and not
interacting with people as they used to, they should seek professional help.
He also cautioned against
stigmatisation of people in depression.
He said, “Imagine people asking
someone in depression, ‘Are you the only one facing problems?’ Of course, the
person can be the only one because their coping mechanism might be different
from others.”
Also, Adeyemo said people in
depression should seek help from professionals and not just from anyone.
He said, “There is a difference
between what a professional will do and what a pastor or imam will do. A cleric
will probably counsel and pray while a professional will employ scientific
techniques.
“We as a people should also understand
depression symptoms so as to assist depressed people. People are battling with
depression and we can help by reaching out to them before they totally break
down.”
Source: https://punchng.com/seven-natural-ways-to-fight-depression/
I soon
realize I needed to let out some air. I quickly took a quick glance around me.
But for Vickie who was so glued to the TV, nobody was closed by. Besides the
fluffy rug under my buttock would suppress any sound, I thought. With this
assurance, I went ahead to do the thing. Still on my computer, I slightly bent
my waist to the right and tried to release the air quietly. But something went
wrong. 
