USA Africa Dialogue Series - Adichie on battling depression

"And now, in the doctor's office, I want to resist. I want to say no thank you, I'll take only premenstrual dysphoric disorder please. It fits elegantly in my arsenal of feminism after all, this severe form of premenstrual syndrome, suffered by only 3% of women, and with no known treatment, only different suggestions for management. It gives me a new language. I can help other women who grew up as I did in Nigeria, where nobody told us girls why we sometimes felt bloated and moody. If we ever talked about what happened to our bodies, then it was behind closed doors, away from the boys and men, in tones muted with abashment. Aunts and mothers and sisters, a band of females surrounded in mystery, the older whispering to the younger about what periods meant: staying away from boys, washing yourself well. They spoke in stilted sentences, gestured vaguely, gave no details. Even then I felt resentful to have to feel shame about what was natural. And now here I was, burnished with a new language to prod and push at this damaging silence.

But depression is different. To accept that I have it is to be reduced to a common cliche: I become yet another writer who has depression. To accept that I have it is to give up the uniqueness of my own experience, the way I start, in the middle of breathing, to sense on the margins the threat of emptiness. Time blurs. Days pass in a fog. It is morning and then suddenly it is evening and there is nothing in between. I am frightened of contemplating time itself..."

- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie writes a heart-felt deeply personal piece here and I applaud her for this. I hope many get to read her personal testimony on the issue of hormonal and mood swings around menstrual periods, and the taboo subject of depression itself. Actually all over the world it seems that issues around menstruation are still steeped in a certain mysterious shame: here in the West the subject seems to arouse nervous jokes and titters. Nigeria is not alone in this. Our people may be poor but many care deeply about these things. What I take from Adichie is the need for awareness and sensitivity training; our army of NGOs should spend that money on these issues. Depression is real.

By the way, I find it quaint, cute and adorable that Adichie reads books on depression rather than simply googling it. The most up to date research on is on the Internet, simply Google it!

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/01/-sp-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-struggle-depression?CMP=share_btn_tw

- Ikhide

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.