Image: Instagram
Media personality, author, and digital content creator Adele Onyang'o has opened up in detail about her struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts in the latest episode of her podcast, Legally Clueless.
Adele kept the heavy segment light as she cracked jokes every once in a while all while bringing to light the dark place where her mind used to wander off and how she crawled out of there.
The 34-year-old shared her crumbling depressive journey from last year that almost broke her. She also shared an emotional video talking about the same on her Instagram page.
“Last year, I had just launched the books that I had co-authored, I was doing gigs with like 3 international organizations that I admire and respect and it seemed like everything in my life was going great.
But amidst it all I felt like my personal life was crumbling and with that came the strongest suicidal thoughts that I have ever battled, it got really bad." Adelle emotionally narrated.
She went on to add;
"I remember that week it got worse. During that week I was supposed to meet my therapist on Thursday and I kept on telling myself let’s just make it to Thursday please, just hold on until Thursday.
So that meant that I had to take it one day at a time and it was difficult until Thursday, and when Thursday came I cried the entire session. I can’t say I felt immediately better,” Adelle recounted.
Captioning the post on her Instagram page Adelle mused over how happy she was that she'd overcome her suicidal thoughts and was here to talk about her journey and inspire others.
"I’m glad I’m still here. If you can relate I’m glad you’re still here. As for my therapist, I’ll ask her if it’s cool to share her contacts here. I know there are hotlines in Kenya but I’ve never tried them so if you have please share! If you have another resource share it as well!"
While commemorating International Women’s Day In Seattle with the Moth and the Gates Foundation, Adelle said celebrating the day was a strong reminder of the death of her mother.
“It was a difficult month because the end of March marked 10 years since my mum died so I was just lonely on steroids. And balancing the thoughts was so hard and still shopping for work, that was difficult,” Adelle said.
But even after battling with suicidal thoughts, the bubbly personality has never shied away to speak out on mental health.
She speaks at events and shares her story, hoping to inspire others to take control of their lives and seek help when they need it.
She wants people to know that it’s okay to struggle, but it’s not okay to give up.
“I am happy that I took a chance on life and myself. I mean, a year from that low point I am having a global impact. Quite a few of us are battling suicidal thoughts and everybody's story is different.
If you have the capacity to give life a chance and give yourself a chance please do. You will be surprised, life will surprise you. If you can be kind to people please be kind, you don’t know what people are fighting,” she said.
Counselors, medics, and psychologists advise that you can always reach out for help when experiencing any mental health issues. Call Kenya Red Cross toll-free hotline, 1199 for support.
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