Overcoming Depression - A trrue story of an African migrant

By Desmond Atemnkeng

A young man with big dreams from a small African village sets to take on the world. He begins a journey that takes him to several places. What he realizes at the end is shocking!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Desmond Atemnkeng
• Release date: Aug 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223930105

Book preview

Disclaimer:

I am not a mental health specialist. This is not a professional self help book.  All information in this book is from my personal experience. If you are struggling with any mental health problem, visit a licensed mental health professional.

INTRODUCTION

Growing up in Africa in the early 2000s, the word ‘depression’ did not exist. Even today, it is still taboo to talk about mental health. It has always been seen as something for the weak. `How can a man possibly be depressed - and have the guts to publicly admit it? That’s feminine and that’s not man-enough`.

Just yesterday while talking to my brother about my mental health, he described it as a white people’s thing. This is 2023 - how ridiculous! Responses like the one my brother gave are very common in Africa. It is a sad situation and despite the fact many more people - including men, have recently been publicly talking about their mental health, a lot is still to be done to normalize this.

In western countries, I have seen an increasing number of people talking publicly about their struggles. These stories have been told on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms.

I have watched all of them with pride, thrilled over the fact that we - as a society, are doing some work to destigmatize conversations around mental health. I have laughed and cried and left comments on such videos and made positive interactions as much as I could. I have reached out to people publicly and privately to empathize with them, and given as much love as I had to everyone.

Seeing the world embracing these conversations makes me fight harder in my own struggles. It has reassured me that I am not alone. It has made me believe that everyone struggles and it is okay to have