Me & My Mental Health Series: Episode 1.

Even though we are few months away from the Mental Health Awareness month, I hold the opinion that there’s no wrong time to talk about this topic, because truly, our mental health doesn’t take a break. It functions to the degree at which we give it care and attention, which is why we are having a Me and My Mental Health Series.

We are having 4 episodes in this series and you should not miss them. You can subscribe to get notifications when posts and other valuable content are shared.

What is Mental Health?

According to World Health Organization, mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and also contribute to their community. It is a core component of human health that supports our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape our world.

The awareness of mental health has steadily increased over the years, especially with the increasing rate of mortality of young people caused by mental health challenge/crisis.

The Mental Health Conversation

As one of the voices that raise awareness about mental health through The Safe Place Africa via the social media, we decided to bring people currently living with a mental health condition on here, and have conversations around mental health and how the journey has been for them so that we can learn a thing or two.

So, join me as I welcome our first guest here 🥁🥁🥁

(Key: GwG = Gleaning with Grace; A = Guest)

GwG: Thank you so much for choosing to do this with us. Let’s dive right into it.

GwG: How are you feeling today? This is not the regular “how are you?” question. 😁

A: Feeling really encouraged and more at peace

GwG: Awesome! Can you please introduce yourself? if you don’t mind.

A: I am Adebisi Ogunsanya, a makeup artist and HR professional

GwG: What mental health condition are you managing?
Adebisi: ADHD -Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

GwG: When were you diagnosed of it?
Adebisi: 2022

GwG: How has the journey to wholeness been so far?
Adebisi: Challenging

The Juice…

GwG: Hmmn! What are things you think if you knew differently, they would have helped you better manage your condition?
Adebisi: That I needed to find my own systems of operation and find what works for me. Understanding I don’t always have to be organized and structured every time, that I can actually find orderliness even in chaos.

GwG: This is profound “finding orderliness even in chaos”. It speaks of a high level of peace one experience in a storm. I felt that. Did you have caregiver(s) at any point? If yes, what role did they play in your recovery?
Adebisi: Well, my parents, especially my mum, she really does help in taking care of me, cooking meals when I am overwhelmed with work.

GwG: Oh! Bless her heart! What challenges are you facing with regards this mental health condition?

Adebisi: Performing well at work. ADHD is a condition that affects your executive functioning skills like organization skills, decision making, time management, comprehension skills, attention levels and etc. And in HR, these are the key skills to thrive well in the career so, it’s being pretty challenging for me to perform exceptionally.

GwG: Wow! This is quite a lot. What word(s) do you have for people who are struggling with mental health issues?
Adebisi: Be very patient with yourself. Try not to hate yourself, it’s quite easy to enter into self hatred, but you have to feel otherwise so you can thrive.

GwG: Thank you so much Adebisi for sharing a bit of your story with us, which at the same time, amplifies the message of mental health.

In wrapping up this episode…

I want you to understand that mental health condition isn’t child’s play and like you read from Adebisi’ responses, it is very challenging. So the least you can do for people around you, whether you know they are struggling with a challenge or not, is to be kind and show empathy. Mental health conditions aren’t written on people’s faces, so “I didn’t know” cannot be an excuse to display bad behavior. I hope you draw strength from the conversations in these series and you are altogether enlightened about mental health. See you in the next episode of Me and My Mental Health Series.

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