Sista Clinik

Depression is quite a common condition. Life’s many frustrations have at one point in our lives left us feeling demoralized about ourselves. As a struggling student, frustrated single, miserable spouse, discontented employee, worried parent, childless couple…the scenarios are endless. Depression is no respecter of persons. It can claim anyone vulnerable enough to let it in. Some fight and overcome it early and move on; others need external support to help free themselves from its grip. But living in an era where everyone is in a hurry to keep up with life, finding someone to confide in about personal issues could prove difficult. Hence, people internalize their sentiments in an attempt to resolve it and like a virus, it starts eating away at them. The effects of depression are ugly; it diminishes the host to a shadow of himself. It cannot be overrated. The onset of depression might not be very noticeable. But we should make a conscious effort to inquire when we see a slight ...

Depression is an experience I can’t describe in a sentence. Sometimes you know the causes, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes the triggers are identifiable, sometimes not. People are always looking for these things to be explained in logical terms.  The problem is that, very often, what a depressed person feels and experiences isn’t logical. In order to help people who are depressed, we must first learn to accept that it doesn’t always make the strictest “sense”.  Accepting this will take us a long way. And of course, we have to understand that it’s not okay to get testy because you don’t “get” whatever a depressed person is telling you that they experience; often, they themselves don’t “get” what they’re feeling either. Depression is not a fantasy fiction story. It isn’t like people who are depressed have seen “depression” on the internet or on a television and thought, “Oh, this looks fashionable; let me try it out.” It happens. It hits you.  Sometimes ...

I won't say I'm clinically depressed. I just had one terrible year that led me into another terrible year of depression and hiding behind a mask. The Ghanaian Society doesn't help men grieve properly. Men shouldn't cry. Men need to be strong. I've heard this and lived by it all my young life. I have an obsession with planning. I set goals for the year, month, and week and usually live by them. When things don't go according to plan, I get agitated. 2014 I had planned to start my MSc (I found someone willing to sponsor), I was expecting my long overdue promotion, and the girl I had been dating since high school had agreed to marry me. Life looked good.  I gained admission to read my MSc, but my sponsor passed away. My boss chose to delay my promotion by another year. One of my best friends died because his parents chose spiritual remedies over medical treatment, and my fiancée informed me she was pregnant for someone else six months to the weddi...

Photo Courtesy: ghanacelebrities.com I will try and make this as short a rant as possible. I am beginning to think Lydia Forson is one of the most misunderstood women in Ghana, and I dare blame it on our patriarchal system that finds everything wrong with a woman who speaks her mind and expresses her thoughts without fear or intimidation.  I have just endured minutes of people calling her out because of her comment on Hamamat Montia’s dress at the recently ended 2016 VGMAs. Personally, what Hamamat wore or didn’t wear to the Awards night is of little importance to me.  Like Miss Forson, I want to believe this very beautiful lady owns one of the greatest inventions of the white man – a mirror – and as such, saw her prominent self, felt good about it before she hammered her steps out of the house and on to the red carpet where she slayed her poses like a queen.  So I really quite don’t get the sudden apologies and its attribute to ‘wardrobe malfunct...