Thinking Out Loud ; Nigerians and their reactions to Depression

Hi everyone!

I miss steemit and writing! January has not been very nice to me but i've learnt a lot still and this has birthed something really awesome. I'm going to be doing a 'thing' and i'll like to call it my "Thinking out loud" series. And no, I won't be ranting a lot but most things I can't say to people's faces, I'll be putting it here. So today, will be about Depression and Nigerians.
My mother is a typical African parent. She prays for you, scolds you like it's no man's business and even "formats" your memory (if you know what I mean).

I remember one time I told my mother I thought I was suffering from depression. She just gave me this look like I was not her child.
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I knew I had said the wrong thing to the wrong person. She called my name thrice and asked me if indeed I was a christian. Before I knew what was happening to me, slap entered into the matter, followed by prayers and then plenty chores because I was bored and had nothing to do that is why I had the 'time' to be depressed.

Me, I was just like

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I just carried myself away. I called my friend and told him what happened. Brother could not just stop laughing at me. He asked me if I thought I was in the 'oyinbo' country. His laughter was so painful that I had to end the call. But really, why do some Nigerian parents think it's okay to reformat your head when all you want to do is talk to them?

We take religion so serious here that we do not see beyond that. Wait, I'm not saying that I don't believe the spiritual controls the physical. But, why do we not understand that depression is real and it's not just the 'oyinbo' people that suffers from it. One time, a doctor committed suicide and it was talked about, a lot, especially on radio. People were asked to call and give their opinion and someone said 'He's copying the 'oyinbo' people. True Africans don't commit suicide. A true African can't be that depressed "
I was dumbfounded. Is there a certain type of depression for Africans? All I'm saying is.... It's real. And the cure for it is not Prayer alone. See a therapist, see someone you can trust. Speak Out!

I almost lost a friend today. I'm glad he's safe now. He had been struggling with a lot of things. He had no one to talk to, everyone laughed it off because he was not very "occupied " that's why he had the "time " to be depressed like me. He had enough of it and he did not want to go on with life. I'm glad I reached out to him today. Depression is real. Talk to that old friend today. Speak words of hope to someone today, life is already too hard.
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