Multi-brand ambassador and award-winning actress, Dakore Egbuson-Akande has opened up on her struggle with postnatal depression, battle for her mental health and the road to recovery, in the latest episode of #WithChude.
Speaking on how her seemingly perfect life and the recent transition to motherhood deteriorated into postpartum depression, Dakore said:
“I had some slight complications after the birth of my daughter. I was in a sad state, and I just slipped into postnatal depression. I didn’t even realise it when it started happening.“
After a conversation with a trusted, older friend who helped her identify the source of her sudden and recurrent mood swings, Dakore visited her OB/GYN, who confirmed that she was indeed suffering from symptoms of postnatal depression.
“I started to realise that I wasn’t using my creativity, so it was dying inside. This was after four years of being away from work. I just had this consistent and persistent sadness – a lack of joy – almost like I would be struggling to reach the joy, then sometimes I would be very manic – like very happy, then very sad,” she revealed.
“After a while, I started going to therapy. My therapist asked me what I used to do before I had my baby, and I told her I was an actor.
She said to me, ‘It’s probably because you’re not doing what you’re used to doing, you’ve been doing this since you were a kid, and now you’ve suddenly stopped‘”.
Through the support of her therapist and a supportive friend, Dakore was able to identify that her depression emanated from the recent readjustments that had been happening in her life.
With a slow but eventual return to acting and the entertainment industry at large, Dakore was able to pull through and regain control of her life and mental health.
