WATCH: 3 ENGAGE Talks of Tough Kenyan Men Who Overcame Mental Health Struggles Like Champs!

November is a special month, as it is marked as Men’s Health Awareness Month which is meant to raise attention on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. We remembered to catch the wagon before the month ended just to remind our dear men that they truly matter and that whatever they are going through not only matters but they can go through it like champs as well. So we picked 3 Engage Talks of tough men, who have conquered depression with the toughness of a cookie and they tell us how they fought hard and overcame this silent killer.

1.MICHAEL OYIER

As a newscaster, Michael Oyier had a very visible public life. He was at the helm of his career as a newscaster and he was really good at it. In private however, there were things going on that led him to a question who he had become, and the private struggles that he was dealing with. The struggle of who he had planned to be as a father and what the reality was, unresolved grief… This saw him get into a downward spiral that depression is. Darkness and despair gnawed at him. Thank God for the people who refused to give up him. Friends and family who held onto him and prayed with and for him. People who love him and encouraged him to recovery. It is possible to rise again from depression. Yes we can.

2. EDDY KIMANI

Eddy Kimani was a familiar face; a well known and respected thespian, journalist, businessman and family man. He left all that behind to serve in his home county government, that is when the downward spiral begun. He lost that makes a man stand tall. Alone, homeless and jobless, serendipity smiled upon him when he was at his lowest. A chance meeting with a man at a bakery marked a new beginning for him. Fall down 7 times, get up 8. May his story inspire you to rise up no matter how far down you feel you’ve fallen.

3. DAVID MAERI

1 in every 4 Kenyan’s has or will suffer from a mental disorder in their lifetime. In 2016 David was that one in those four. Once he summoned the courage to see a psychiatrist, he was diagnosed with mild clinical depression. David shares his experience of what depression looks like, what it takes out of you and what it feels like. This is a story of facing your demons and slaying them. It is a story of courage, hope and encouragement. Depression is real. Expose it, name it, shame it. You can overcome it.

If these brave gentlemen could overcome their mental health struggles and rise above it all, then you can do it as well. #LetsBonga