Popular Nigerian actress Toyin Abraham has revealed how she battled with depressed and living in denial.
In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, she spoke about the pain she went through as she battled depression and the greatest lessons they taught her. She how she was able to overcome depression with the help of her manager, counsellor, reading books including the Bible, changing people around her and rediscovering herself.
She said, “It was not easy. My manager had to get a counsellor all the way from America to talk to me. It wasn’t easy.
“I knew I needed therapy, but sometimes you lie to yourself even when you know that you need something.
“I detached myself from my family because I thought I was going to die soon and didn’t want them to miss me.
“I lived in denial, but I knew I was depressed. I would often sit down and be sad for no reason. I would get scared even when people were around me.
“I would get scared when people called me for something good, I would be scared that something will happen. It wasn’t easy.
“I was not happy. I was eating well but I was growing thinner by the day. I was very skinny. I would cry to my manager on the phone as I was always sad.
“I always wanted to be alone, lock myself up. I would feel like some people are talking to me. I was really depressed. This happened in the past three/four years”.
She added, “I have this thing with a camera. Once I see the camera, everything about me opens up. When I’m on set, I would always want to impress myself.
“Being in front of the camera, on set really helped me a lot. But once the camera leaves, I become very sad.
“I overcame depression when I started listening to music. Spoke to my manager that he would always have to pick my calls. That really helped me cos I used to call him up at night.
“Then he got a counselor from America to come to talk to me. And she would call me up to tell me how beautiful I am.”
“I had to change everybody around me, had a different mentality to rediscover myself.
“I started reading books. I read the bible, and that was how I overcame it. Although sometimes, the thought might want to come but I’ll just say, “Get away from me.”
“I would rather have a cut than have a psychological problem. Because cut, I can treat it but the psychological problem will make me have the biggest cut I won’t be able to treat”, she concluded.
