Chronicle Editor
Mthabisi Tshuma,Showbiz Reporter
“I’ll return a stronger man. This land is still my home.”
The above phrase speaks volumes to the effects of depression as this was to be the last public tweet to be posted by late music icon Riky Rick who committed suicide on Wednesday morning.
His death came as a shock to many who followed the Sidlukotini hit-maker.
It raised discussions on how people tend to bottle up issues that affect them until they think of the precious gift of life as a burden to them.
Following Riky Rick’s death, several creatives expressed the need to be there for each other and have support systems.
In simple terms, depression is defined as a group of conditions associated with the elevation or lowering of a person’s mood, such as depression or bipolar disorder.
The most common types are clinical depression which is a mental health disorder characterised by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.
Also, there is a persistent depressive disorder which is a mild but long-term form of depression.
Then there is a bipolar disorder which is a disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs.
Many people out there are living with depression, either knowingly or unknowing.
The effects not only affect the person with depression but also the people they surround.
A number of artistes in Zimbabwe who include renowned modelling pageant organiser Sipho Mazibuko of the Miss Strides fame and comedian-cum-actor Carl Joshua have at various stages opened up on their battle with depression.
Saturday Leisure caught up with Zenani Masuku, the executive director at the African Institute for Ending Bullying and Depression, to get a glimpse of the jinx behind depression.
Masuku said Riky Rick, also known as Boss Zonke’s suicide pushed for a good cause in terms of letting people open up on depression.
“Depression is not just about celebrities. Celebrities allow us to finally get to talk about issues to do with mental health and they show us when they commit suicide, the seriousness of it.
“When the whole world sees one of their favourite people taking their own lives, it really gets the conversation running and it makes it a reality for those who fail to comprehend that suicide is real and is caused by depression,” said Masuku.
She said it also gets people to realise that “you do not have to be poor to have mental health issues or to be depressed”.
“You don’t have to be poor to be affected by mental health as it’s not a poor man’s sickness.
Celebrities are just like every ordinary person.
The work that makes them celebrities also carries stress just like any working person,” she said.
Masuku said having to see a celebrity taking their own life is an alarm to say that this is real as it shows that people are not being treated for depression.
“Most people who commit suicide have a history of having suicidal thoughts.
People face depression not because they’re rich or poor, but are triggered by numerous things.
One of them can be a genetic disorder.
“If you read the last tweet by Ricky Rick that ‘I will come back a stronger man’, is it really about strength or it’s just the body and mind that were failing to manage the daily stresses a human being faces,” said Masuku.
She said lack of depression management leads to easy feelings of distress and the lack of ability to fight for yourself saying that is why it is key for mental health activists to keep on talking about the treatment of mental illnesses such as depression.
She said people respond to certain situations differently.
“One person can lose an entire family and not suffer severe depression because they have the ability and are built that way to be able to handle such traumatic stress.
On the other hand, one person can lose their dog and break.
“We are all like rubber bands where we break at different points and it’s not a choice to be at a point where you can’t deal with the daily triggers that you face emotionally.”
Masuku said the bad part of it all is that people are not taught how to handle different situations.
“Unfortunately, none of us has ever been groomed or taught to be able to deal with one stress after another, one trigger after the other.
We’re only taught to be strong and positive in all situations, but we’re not taught to deal with the stresses and triggers that lead us to feel unwell.
“We also have never been taught at primary or secondary level, how to identify if we are mentally unwell.
And because of that, how then can we get treatment or see the red flags of our mental health and get help so this becomes a challenge.”
Mazibuko who said she went to hell and back as she battled depression said this condition is real and is a killer.
She said the feeling is worse when you are a public figure.
“When you’re depressed, all you can think of is a way out of your misery and the quickest way is suicide.
I’ve done it before, but luckily, I survived.
“When you’re a public figure, it feels like the whole world can see your troubles.
You can’t trust anyone.
It feels as if everyone can see what’s eating you up inside,” said Mazibuko.
She said even when one gets medication, it feels like the medication isn’t working fast enough adding that there is a need to provide creatives with a support system.
“I ended up taking all the medication in one go.
It was that bad. Depression takes away your confidence.
You choose to shut yourself out.
What needs to be done is to give creatives a platform to be heard — a platform where they can talk without being labelled,” Mazibuko said.
Creatives, Mazibuko said, need to be able to speak out, preferably to professionals who will not judge them or tell people the cause or reason behind their depression.
– @mthabisi_mthire
Online Reporter