The last meeting of the year for The Overcomers Club had just ended and Deborah was glad at the progress that had been made throughout this year. The Overcomers Club wasn’t just a club to her. It was more of a family.. She was definitely going to miss all the close friends she had made so far. She couldn’t wait for the meetings to start again the next year. With her fingers slightly caressing the stairs, she reflected on her past. Deborah was amazed at how much she had changed in the past few years.
Five years ago on New Year’s Eve she had received a call that had changed her life. Just a single call and her world had come crashing down. The call that had changed her life foreover and defined whom she was now.
It was a panic call from her neighbor who has called to tell her that her house was on fire. In panic, she threw away the onions she had gone out to buy that evening and ran home. Running had never been her thing. In secondary school, she was the orobo of the school being the fattest person in the whole school. How she managed to cover a distance of about 25 minutes in less than 5 minutes, she could not explain. From a distance, she could see the thick smoke that hung in the air.She ran like her life depended on it, the back of her heels almost touching her head. Anyone that saw her at that moment would have thought she was mad.
Reaching home, a huge crowd had gathered in front of the house. She pushed her way frantically to the front past the hundreds of people that were gathered.
“Where is my husband? Where is my husband and son?”, she asked
The whole house was already on fire and people were trying to douse the fire with water and sand. She spotted her neighbor Tai; the one who had called earlier .
“Daniel and his daddy would be fine. I think the fire started from the kitchen. People are trying to put off the fire. They will get your family out in no time” Tai said, trying to reassure her.
Deborah could hear the cries and screams of her husband and son from within the house . She had left them sleeping in the house when she left the house minutes ago to get salt to complete dinner. At this point, she couldn’t keep calm anymore. She tried to enter the house to save her family and was quickly held back by members of the community. She was outnumbered and easily overpowered. Despite all her cries and struggles, there was no way they were going to allow her go into the house and risk her life.
Women were trying to console her as she wailed and rolled uncontrollably on the ground. The only thing that could put an end to the anguish that she felt was to see her husband and son alive. Seconds turned into minutes…Minutes turned into hours. This was the worst waiting period of her life. The fire service later arrived and was able to put out the fire. What she saw next were two roasted bodies being carried out. The next thing Deborah remembered was waking up in the hospital.
Slowly walking down the stairs, she remembered how her life had been in the years after the sad incident that claimed two of her loved ones. The feeling of hopelessness that had ensued, how she had withdrawn from all her family and friends. The once cheerful black beauty had become a shadow of herself. She closed her eyes and could still remember vividly all the nights she had cut herself repeatedly with razor blades. Till now, her skin was still marred with the scars of the damage she had inflicted on herself. She had considered suicide at different times. She had even bought the bottle of insecticides on three different occasions but each time she opened it, she didn’t have the will to go through. It would have been better if she had died with her family on that day in the fire. What was left for her now in this world. Her doctor had diagnosed her of a mental disorder called depression.
The battle against depression hadn’t been easy at all. There were nights when she heard her husband’s voice calling her. With the help of psychological treatments such as behavioural activation and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and with the support of family and friends, she had been able to get over it.
Growing up, she always heard the adage, not” There is light at the end of the tunnel“. In Deborah’s fight against depression, she had seen the light and was determined not to keep it to herself. The Overcomers Club was here to stay for good. It was a club where people with mental illnesses were accepted and not discriminated, where they would not feel ashamed of their conditions, a community of mental health warriors who would strengthen and support one another. Mental illnesses are a wide range of mental health conditions that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. If she was able to get over mental illness, then there were so many people who could still win this fight. She was going to reach thousands of people with mental illnesses and help them win this fight. With a smile on her face and a firm resolve, she left the building and ran the journey home. This is who she was and this is what she was born for.
Written by Bolaji Ogunyade
If you are having thoughts of suicidal and you want to speak to a professional. Contact Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative on 08091116264
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