A few days ago, I had what you’d call an epiphany, that moment when everything just… clears up. It hit me when I found out that an acquaintance’s friend had tried to take her own life. She poisoned herself. Tried the quickest way of killing a rat, on herself. Treated her own body like some rodent you can get rid of with one dose.

What shook me most wasn’t just what she did, but how much she had already said without being heard. She hinted that she wasn’t okay. She started withdrawing from her people, shutting out her closest circle. And when they’d ask, she’d dismiss them with a simple “I’m going through a lot.”

In my generation, that phrase has become dark humour, a blanket statement we use when we can’t find the words. We laugh it off, say “a lot is going through us”, but the truth is, it’s as dark as the humour itself.

She’d even tell her friend, “Na muniombe.” Pray for me.
But no one really thought it was that deep. Until it was.

Then came the call: “She’s done it. She’s drunk poison. Please come.”
And suddenly, the bluff we dismissed turned real. The race begins, rushing to a threat that’s already happened.

Thank the Big Guy, she made it. But that’s when it hit me, how often we brush off pain until it explodes.

See, in typical African fashion, depression is often met with disbelief. “You’re bluffing.” “You just want attention.” “You’re not serious.” But maybe, just maybe, even if it was attention, shouldn’t we give it? Shouldn’t we listen anyway?

People say only cowards commit suicide. Surviving it is punishable.
Sure, life is precious. But wouldn’t trying to understand why someone wants to end it, and preventing it from happening again, be a better cause?

See, in typical African fashion, depression is often met with disbelief. “You’re bluffing.” “You just want attention.” “You’re not serious.”

Because, honestly, it takes immense courage to end your own life. That same courage could save it if we stopped condemning and started listening.

There’s an African proverb that says, You don’t step on someone who’s already tripped.

At Convo Africa E-Therapy, we believe that healing begins with understanding. We offer a space free of judgment, where your strength isn’t questioned, it’s uncovered. A space to speak, to breathe, and to rise again.

Learn more and Book a session today.