TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE AND HAPPINESS: Addressing The Disturbing Rise Of Depression And Suicide Among The Nigerian Youth.

There's a way we romanticize negativity that bemuses me. I'm talking about sickness, depression, spiritual attacks and so on. Maybe because we love to be pitied. Or because we enjoy the attention, (and we know that) for people who don't have a lot going on in their lives, or who are just plain narcissists, any form of attention is welcome. 

It didn't start today though. Remember that time in primary school when all you had was a small cut on your big toe, but you nearly robed your entire body in gauze and limped for a whole month? 

And that time in secondary when you claimed to have asthma, when all you really had was a penchant for drama and spotlight. 

A lot of times in the past, especially last year, whenever I went for days without putting any literary material out, either articles or poetry, I felt empty, like a failure. Couple this with me experiencing slow business, and brokeness to top all of that, I soon became "depressed."

To make matters worse, every other woke person on Facebook was depressed too, and because we often seek kindred spirit where we shouldn't, we are glad to be associated with the disillusioned depressed. A slumber party where we can all pretend that the whole world is against us, and that every single person in our caucus of the depressed really gives a damn about the next depressed person like they claim. 

I'm grateful that I got a hold of myself early enough. If I had taken my own life last year, my blood would have been on my own head, not on the heads of people who I saw every blessed day but didn't respect my life enough to confide in.

In this generation, we no longer take responsibility for our own lives and happiness. We bank on our partners or children to make us happy, we wait for people around us to pressure us into opening up about our challenges. We don't seek medical or spiritual help, we wait for our virtual friends to read the stars to know we have challenges, so that after we have taken our own lives, we can rest satisfied that we left them behind languishing in guilt.

Last year, I watched myself slip. In situations where I would have ordinarily jumped back up and taken my life in my own hands, I complacently claimed depression several times (how convenient!). And you know, around here, especially on Facebook and Twitter, a depressed person is untouchable. They can't be held accountable for their actions, even when they assault or defame others, lest they commit suicide. You can't challenge them to get their sh!t together, you'll be crucified for being insensitive. 

So, be an unachieving and average-as-hell goon, and the world will despise you. 

But be a criminal, prejudiced, unachieving, sexually perverted, lazy, entitled, average-as-hell "depressed" goon, and the world (this contemporary world that is an obnoxious blend of advancement and insanity) will revolve around you. 

If I could speak for Depression, I'd say she feels slandered by the Wokist community. This sickness seems to be the exclusive preserve of our social media elites and intellectuals (including the aspiring ones), that's my observation.  

And no, I'm not saying there aren't truly depressed people around us, I'm only saying there are too many undepressed people claiming depression, deflecting attention and aid from those who really need it. And some of us see through the gimmicks, you know. Been there, done that.

We must learn take responsibility for our own lives, sanity and happiness, to speak to doctors or therapists when we feel physically or mentally sick, to confide in friends and neighbours when faced with situations beyond our ability, and more importantly, to learn to separate heartbreaks, grieving phase, mood swings, writer's block, financial challenges from clinical depression. 

PS: There has never been a time when I felt low in my spirit, and I confided in Jesus without feeling the burden lifted.

PPS: I have a feeling that depression might soon go out of vogue, and the new sign of initiation into the woke community will be Gender Questioning. (This is an absolutely random thought.)

What do you think?

11.03.19