In a short monologue with Dang Network, Nigerian artiste cum designer cum political advocate, Mocheddah, has shared her battle with depression.
Every day, as the face of depression and suicide becomes less blurry to Nigerians, more people are coming out of the shadows of stigmatization to share the stories of their encounter with this life-threatening condition. However, these people are regular folks without the ability to garner as much attention to be heard or to propel widespread sensitization.
Celebrities, on the other hand, wield this power and Mocheddah has decided to be one of the first to use her platform to unveil and shed more light on depression through her personal story. In the two-part monologue, she confessed that the glitz and glam lifestyle was a facade she portrayed to hide her internal struggles.
Noting that her battle with depression was the major reason she quit music, she also highlighted her painful experience within the Nigerian music industry which was largely hostile.
“The industry was hostile. I would be performing and they would turn off my microphone because the A-list artist doesn’t like me. I didn’t get it; I didn’t know there was hate. I never knew hate. How do I meet a legend and I kneel down to say hi to her and she is like “Get off me”, a woman I have looked up to, for years, the industry was hostile.”
Of course, withholding herself from name dropping, we can only wonder (and maybe speculate) who these industry giants are.
One would have never imagined that someone like Mo’ could be depressed. But, we are beyond glad that she’s open and honest about her experience. Through this, we hope more people can realize all that glitters and sparkles isn’t gold nor diamond and the most important lesson of all: You Are Not Alone. If you feel depressed, get help; talk to someone about it, but never keep it bottled up inside.