TheNewsGuru

Tag: depression

  • Taraji Henson speaks on battle with depression

    Taraji Henson speaks on battle with depression

    Renowned actress, Taraji Penda Henson has opened up on her battle with depression.

    Listed among Time Magazine’s ‘ Most influential persons in the world’ in 2016, the movie star opened up with her struggle with depression in a chat with Variety Magazine

    “I suffer from depression. My anxiety is kicking up, even more, every day, and I’ve never really dealt with anxiety like that. It’s something new,” she said.

    Speaking on how she tackles her depression problems, Henson noted that she steers clear off social media to avoid having to compare herself with people living “false lives” and “filtering pictures”.

    “Even if life is good for you, you can still get on there and become depressed because people are filtering pictures and living these false lives, and it makes you second guess yourself,” she said.

    “I have a therapist that I speak to. That’s the only way I can get through it. You need a professional who can give you exercises, someone who studies the human mind and has no stakes involved.

    “Their job is to make sure you’re mentally sound and tell you the truth, which might hurt. I remember the first time I went, I was angry because I was like, ‘She didn’t tell me nothing!’ You’re not going to figure it out in one sitting.”

    In 2016, Time named Henson one of the 100 most influential people in the world. That year, she released a New York Times best selling autobiography titled Around the Way Girl.Also that year, she was praised for her starring role as Katherine Johnson in the critically acclaimed drama film Hidden Figures, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

     

    In 2012, Henson was in the large ensemble cast film Think Like A Man, based on Steve Harvey’s 2009 book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. She reprised the role in the film’s sequel, Think Like a Man Too, released in June 2014.

     

     

  • Study links social media use to higher risk of depression

    Study links social media use to higher risk of depression

    A study has shown that teenage girls are twice as likely as boys to show depressive symptoms linked to social media use – mainly due to online harassment and disturbed sleep, as well as poor body image and lower self-esteem.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the study analysed data from nearly 11,000 young people in Britain and found that 14-year-old girls were heavier users of social media, with two-fifths of them using it for more than three hours a day, compared with a fifth of boys.

    The study also found that 12 percent of light social media users and 38 percent of heavy social media users (five-plus hours a day) showed signs of having more severe depression.

    When the researchers looked at underlying processes that might be linked with social media use and depression, they found 40 percent of girls and 25 percent of boys had experience of online harassment or cyberbullying.

    Disrupted sleep was reported by 40 percent of girls compared with 28 percent of boys. Anxiety and poor sleep are both linked to depression.

    Girls were also more affected when it came to social media use and concerns about body image, self-esteem and appearance, the researchers found, but here the gap with boys was smaller.

    Yvonne Kelly, a professor at University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care who co-led the research, urged parents and policymakers to note its results.

    “These findings are highly relevant to current policy development on guidelines for the safe use of social media and calls on industry to more tightly regulate hours of social media use for young people,” she said in a statement.

    She said families may also “want to reflect on when and where it’s ok to be on social media” and consider restrictions on teenagers having mobile devices in their bedrooms.

    The study, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), was published online in the journal EClinicalMedicine on Friday.

     

  • How I battled depression-Harrysong

    Reggae Blues sensation, Harrysong has shared how he dealt with depression.

    The award winning artiste made this timely revelation in a chat with ThisDay.

    When asked how he dealt with depression, the ‘Selense’ crooner noted that reaching out for help was what saved him from harm.

    “What I was going through was pressure. It was a lot more than I could really have envisaged. I was depressed basically, then it was pressure and I needed to speak out to also help myself and help others.

    “So it was also a lesson not just to me but to others and thank God, I am out stronger and back to business.

    “Because I was real to myself, it was a big challenge for me. So, I try as much as I can, not to focus on myself but to the works that needed to be done and people that are looking up to me.

    “And being strong for myself is also being strong to millions and also being real for myself is also being real to millions,” Harrysong said.

    The former Five Star Music singer astonished his fans in September when he openly announced that he was going through depression.

    “Don’t cry (when) I die, celebrate, put up a kingmaker concert, empower more youths. I have lived. I have done my bit, carry on in grace,” he wrote on Instagram.

     

    Revealed: Why Nigerian celebrities are battling depression

  • Music cures depression, psychological hurts- Adewale Ayuba

    Adewale Ayuba has urged Nigerian youth to explore the therapeutic essence of music as it could heal emotional and psychological pain.
    Ayuba said music is spiritual as it ministers to the spirit and soul, thereby rejuvenating mental health.
    He urged Nigerians to listen to music with positive content because it could go a long way in making them retain sound mental health.
    “Music is the food for the soul, it allays depression and psychological hurts,” the musician told NAN on Wednesday.
    “That is the reason you find Psychiatric Doctors advising their patients to listen to music because of its soothing effect to the mental health.
    “Am talking about music with positive contents, that is the one that has absolute healing effect, instilling morals in the younger ones and educating them.
    “For everyone depressed or going through a challenge, cooling off with music will help such individuals because music ministers to the soul, heals emotional wounds and proffers solutions to problems.”
    Ayuba attributed the cause of negative musical content from artistes to the fact that most Nigerian youth prefer music with obscene content as it sells faster than those with positive contents.
    He advised artistes in the entertainment industry to consider morals in their music so as not to derail the youth.
    “Our first task as musicians is to ensure that people learn from our music and stay conscious of the messages we are passing across so that the society can be a better place,” he said.
     

  • Revealed: How celebrities can deal with depression

    ‘Aranbanko’ crooner, Harysong stunned his fans when left a troubling message on his Instagram page, on Wednesday, September 5th 2018.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BnWlYkjgG5v/?taken-by=iamharrysong
     

    “Dont cry when i die, celebrate, put up a kingmaker concert,empower more youths,..i have Lived..i have Done my bit,carry on in grace… TEKERO❤ I LOVE YOU ALL.”, he wrote.
    The statement made many concerned about the state of his mental health.
    Depression is real and your favourite stars and celebrities are not exempted. Being famous does not automatically shield you from mental illness.
    Depression has no apparent cause, it is a mood disorder characterized by persistently low mood and a feeling of sadness and loss of interest, it is a persistent problem, not a passing one according to Markus MacGill.
    “It is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in daily activities causing significant impairment in daily life.”
    According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability in the world; the number of people suffering from depression and/or anxiety disorders have increased by almost 50 per cent, from 416 million in 1990 to 615 million in 2013, with chances of an annual increase.
    Mental and emotional health are the single biggest predictors of individual happiness. However, 3 in every 10 Nigerians reportedly experience depressive symptoms, according to the National Depression Report.
    The report, which is the first nationwide study of happiness and depression, contains results from the nation-wide happiness and depression survey conducted across all the 36 states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), internal surveys from The Joy Congress, and up-to-date data on the state of the depression crisis in Nigeria.
    HALIMA ABUBAKAR
    In the case of Nollywood actress, Halima Abubakar, she revealed that she was depressed for seven months over a failed relationship. According to the sexy actress, after her relationship collapsed, she didn’t handle it well, thereby leading to her having sleepless nights and constant migraine. She also revealed that at some point she couldn’t sleep for about two weeks. The depression got so bad that she had to be hospitalized.

     

    THE WAY OUT
    “I learned that my sadness never destroyed what was great about me. You just have to go back to that greatness, find that one little light that’s left. I’m lucky I found one little glimmer stored away”, Lady Gaga, making reference to how she dealt with depression.
    1. Break the silence, seek professional help
    Just like Harrysong who wasn’t ashamed of his battle with depression, but rather sought professional help, you need to opt for professional help.
    According to the Executive Director, Centre for Individual and Child Development (CICD), Chizoba Akunne, no one is immune to depression, so as long as you have a brain, you can succumb to it.
    Some people are vulnerable due to their biological condition, or any other facet, which many therapists have to look out for. It can also be a combination of different factors. More importantly, victims of depression need to open up and talk to people – that way, it becomes easy to identify the problem,” she added.

     
    DENCIA

    1. Seek social support

     

    Popular singer, Dencia revealed that her depression wasn’t as a result of the news or what people said about her but rather was more of a family issue.
    According to her, she fell into depression when it was revealed to her that the woman who she thought was her elder sister was actually her mother. According to her, it was a very hard truth to believe as she thought her grandparents were her parents and her mother, her elder sister.
    Anyone in the shoes of Dencia would need social support and affirmation to be able to break the shackles of depression.
    Relationships play a big part in helping to cure depression. Many hormones involved in bonding and helping behaviour help reduce the anxiety and stress related to depression. When you are depression, you are likely embrace isolation. Having someone to talk to you about your feelings and having someone to talk to you out of your drowning feelings of depression can be of monumental help in dealing with depression and preventing a re-occurrence.

    3 .Change the way you see things.
    Author and famed publisher, Betty Irabor in her book’ Dust to Dew’ recounted how she overcame depression.
    “Family Support, Will Power! Change of outlook towards everything. I woke up one day and decided to get out of it. I decided to fight and get my life back. I didn’t like where I was and I realised no one could get me out of this dungeon except me.
    I didn’t like the effect it had on my family so I began to fight back. I fought against the dominance of overwhelming negative emotions. I began to find reasons to be happy. I lived in the NOW. I looked for joy in everything around me and started to read the bible again.
    I travelled. I went to both London and New York fashion week and stayed abroad for a while. I took time off and went to health farm outside London. The minute I stepped into my room I just zoned out. I slept for 4 hours straight, the first time in nearly 18 months. Before then I was sleeping 2 hours a night.
    At the farm, I got to read “The Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyer and I could see that I had been in a battlefield which only a change of mind-set and prayers could”.

  • Waje slams young Nigerians

    Nigerian songstress, Waje has slammed young Nigerians with an entitlement mentality.

    The busty singer and mother of one shared a post on her Instagram to correct the notion that young people have by thinking success in the entertainment industry is all about wearing makeup, smiling, and taking pictures.

    The ‘I wish’ singer revealed that she has hired four new personal assistants in the past three months because all of them complain about the workload and perhaps expected an easy routine.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl-RzgEAyck/?taken-by=officialwaje

    Hear her:“What’s your worth? The value you bring? Successful people grind!

    “Dear young people, you have to work! You think cause of the clothes and lifestyle, we hang with our legs and sit with makeup and a smile? It’s disheartening. You send me dm’s of how you want a job etc. In the last 3 months, I have worked with four personal assistants with everyone complaining that the job is stressful. So you think the job was taking pictures?” she wrote.

     

     

     

  • There is never a right time to commit suicide- Ubi Franklin

    There is never a right time to commit suicide- Ubi Franklin

     

    Music entrepreneur and investor Ubi Franklin, recently shared his battle with depression at Joy Masterclass, themed ‘Dealing with Depression’.

    The event focused on the ideologies of human prosperity, well-being and living a life leveraging positive emotions, healthier habits and powerful self-awareness practices.

    Speaking at the event, Franklin recounted his battle with depression.

    He emphasised on the need to avoid creating negative pictures in the mind or attaching importance to specific dates that signify bad moments, but instead use such days or moments as a motivation for success.

    “There’s never a right moment to commit suicide. It’s all about the mind,” he said.

    “Depression is usually created through silent pressure which will create a negative mindset, perception, or the compulsion to live our lives in order not to disappoint our parents, families or communities.”

     

    The CEO of Made Men Music Group (MMMG), had previously shared his depression story on Instagram.

     

    The estranged husband of Nollywood actress, Lilian Esoro wrote on his Instagram page: “It all started precisely from the month of July 20, 2016 to March 2017 thereabouts. I was quite depressed badly and it became so bad that my life began to deteriorate so much that I literally don’t eat and I don’t sleep so much so that my family and close friends became really scared,” he wrote.

     

    “My life deteriorated so bad that I became a regular patient at the hospital to be treated for one ailment or the other. I show up at events looking lost and drained. But you know you just have to keep the face, like everything is ok.”

  • I once broke my phone because I was angry- Waje

    Nigerian songstress and vocal power house, Waje has recounted how she expresses her depression through anger.

    The award winning singer said sometimes people confuse anger for depression. She further recounted how she broke her phone as a result of being angry.

    Speaking in a chat with Pulseng, she said: “The thing is, many times when people talk about depression, I always come from the angle where there is a difference between depression and anger. A depressed person does not even know that they are depressed, they will give every reason to think that they are not in that place. When you are depressed, you don’t want to eat, you don’t want to go out, your life stops literally.

    “I have come to realize that being someone in the limelight, you have to guard your territory, I have been in that space where… I wouldn’t say mine was depression, mine was anger management, it was a kind of depression but the only way I could express myself was through anger.

    “I remember that time, that was the year we got signed as Glo ambassadors so actually my career was doing really good. I just released my album, I was nominated in four categories in World Music Awards every year, money dey come. But I had anger issues, why because I just didn’t see myself the way I wanted to see myself. I saw myself through everybody’s eye. I would look at you and whatever you tell me about me is what I would accept.

    “I remember one time I was so angry, I didn’t want to break my TV, because na me pay for the TV, I broke my phone, can you imagine holding a phone and bending it like literally bending it, you can imagine the rage for being able to break a phone?

     

    “I have come to realize that you have to guard yourself, you have to understand what is going on around you”, she said.

     

  • How I battled depression- Toke Makinwa

    Many see Toke Makinwa as the quintessential strong woman living her dreams. However, contrary to what many believe that she has it all figured out, the beautiful media personality has revealed how she recently battled depression and recovered from a recent surgery.

     

    Stylish Toke took to her Instagram page on Wednesday to share her touching story embedding a video of a popular American pastor, Steven Furtick, where she claimed she got her inspiration from.

    In her words: “Long and honest post alert

    I like to think I’m strong, I like to think my mind is positive and I’m out here focused on me, building to have a better life than I’ve had and just trying to leave this world a better place. Watching this clip broke me because this has been my state of mind this year.

     

    The devil targeted my mind. He tried to make me lose my mind!!!! Somehow strong TM started to live in a lot fear and doubt and the fear quickly turned to depression. I could sell out my bags or kill it at a stage play or smash another milestone in my career and be so happy today and wake up sad the next. The devil started planting words of uncertainty in my heart and I started to drift.

     

    I started to feel unworthy and it was a strange feeling I had a very important procedure and I didn’t tell anyone simply because a part of me wanted out from it. (Can you believe the cheek), last week I went into surgery and as the doctors did their thing, Jesus did his. He was there to lift all the unnecessary burden and give me a new heart and as I woke up I felt different.

     

     

    I felt chosen, I felt like I went thru a re-birth and I share this because someone out there is struggling too. We all have bad days but it’s not a bad life, we all doubt ourselves and feel uncertain but the fact that you are still breathing, there’s a second chance being given. It’s hard because we’ve become a people who shame others for opening up and who ridicule others to hide our own insecurities but I had to share this because just because you think TM is strong and untouchable which she probably is, I let the devil in without knowing it.

     

    Once you lose the battle over your mind, once you accept the negativity and let the doubt in and begin to listen to those words, you let the devil win and he will take it all. I know it’s hard, the fact that you face this challenge is tough enough but God is building you up to show you off so you too can one day say you’ve been thru the fire and you came out on the other side cos you have been chosen. It’s never easy for the selected. Your life will inspire someone to live again, take another chance, build again and stay alive. Stay winning”.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BhbNHHulKwE/?taken-by=tokemakinwa

     

     

    Recall that back in March the entrepreneurial media personality slammed people who judged the crash of her marriage to fitness expert, Maje Ayida.

  • How I got out of depression- Owen Gee

    Making others happy is not a panacea to get out of depression. According to studies creative artists are fifth in the top 10 professions with high rates of depressive illness. But does depression attract them to the job? Or does the job make them depressed?

    Going by the revelation made by ace comedian, Owen Gee it is safe to believe that when things aren’t going as planned, entertainers are likely to slip into depression. Many were shocked when Owen Gee disclosed his battle with depression recently at an event in Lagos.

     

    Speaking in a chat with Punch, he said:”Although comedians are thought to be the happiest people in the world, we are also human beings. When I was depressed, I had to find a way to snap out of that mental state of mind even though it was hard for me.

    For years, I had taken different pills and drugs just to calm me down. I had taken antidepressants, high blood pressure drugs; and there were times that they had given me drugs that would just knock me out and make me sleep but when I woke up after a while, I would be back to the reality of things. However, none of the drugs was as powerful as self-rediscovery and prayers. I felt better every time I prayed and I started reading inspiring books. I began to read stories that changed my thought process and whenever I saw a book with the word ‘think’ or how to work on your mind, I started reading them. I began to listen to inspirational songs like Majek Fashek’s Spirit of Love album, reggae songs. The Spirit of Love album had a lot of inspiration songs; I also listened to Redemption song by Bob Marley.

    “I paid attention to things that got me excited. I also started going out not as Owen G but Mr. Owen Osamwengie. I started spending more time with my sons; my first son loves football a lot, so we would sit down and discuss football for hours. That was how I snapped out of depression”.

     

    Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage thrill fans at London listening party