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My sister is not one to be thrilled with being public about your personal life so I was so surprised when she gave me her full support and spearheaded the movement, introducing me to people she deemed relevant for the path I had decided to course my life along.
Amongst the many people she introduced me to was Elom Delali.

The first time I saw her I truly did not know what to expect from her until she smiled, and as she extended her hand to receive my handshake, my heart settled. I was home. My sister told me she had a Bible study group which was similar to what I wanted to do and as I stalked the Instagram page of the group, I found a video of her speaking about her depression and I was perplexed. I would never in my wildest dreams imagine a bubbly, all smily beautiful lady like her could ever experience depression in her life. Her story gave me the courage I needed to be bare with my own story, and her Bible study group has been a lifeline for me.

Today we have beautiful Elom to share with us on Afiyasays.

A.A: thank you for accepting to share your story with us today. Could you tell us a little about yourself?

E.D: Hey! I am Elom:). Key things to note are, I love me a whole lot of JESUS, people, and tea. All other things pretty are a close second

A.A: Nicey. What do you make of depression? How would you describe it from your point of view?

E.D: I feel like I do not have the expertise to clinically diagnose depression but speaking to my counselor, she would tell you that on some level, and in different phases of life, everyone has an encounter with depression one way or the other; whether it’s mild or it’s really intense. I would describe my experience with depression as necessary. For me, I entered into the space where I was deeply grieved, I was mourning. I was depressed because for the first time in my life I had allowed my self to experience the feelings of all the traumatic events from my childhood. It wasn’t an easy process I had opened myself to … Living was hard, everything was hard… and I did not necessarily want to live life even.

A.A: How was your depression like?

E.D: I felt weighty about different things that had occurred in my life and they were constantly playing back in my mind. I was walking around with a continual sadness, engaging with people was even hard at times. I felt GOD’s hand through the entire process, HE placed people in my life who were instrumental that I find healing. Professional counseling was one of the most instrumental processes for me.

A.A: How did you overcome it?

E.D: How I overcame it was to go through it. I did not fight off the sadness nor the grieving. I did it with God. I did not isolate myself from God, I did not isolate myself from help. I sought after counseling and that helped me to confront the issues I was facing that were making me feel the way I was feeling. I told people that I could be vulnerable with at the time what I was going through, especially times where my thoughts turned suicidal.

Practical ways I would deal with it.
Get professional help, Press in to GOD and people even if you feel contrary or despite your contrary thoughts, don’t isolate yourself.

A.A: What do you wish for people to know about depression?

E.D: That it’s ok not to be okay but you don’t have to stay there. That it can end, my life now attests to that.

A.A; It can end. That’s powerful. Now, how did your family and friends relate to you in that period of your life?

E.D: Most people were not aware but those who were aware were very supportive. I basically didn’t have the capacity to maintain a relationship because I needed people who will be there all the time which was pretty demanding so I kept away. My support system at that time was my counselor and my best friend at the time.

A.A: What would you like to tell people with relatives dealing with depression?

E.D: Continually keep checking in with them, Ask them what they need and as much as possible be consistent and be there. Get them the help they need. They most probably may not be able to open up to you or talk to you about it, do not be offended by that, you are not always equipped to journey with them so find them someone who is.

A.A: Your life inspired me so much Elom. Thank you for letting me into your space and sharing your life and struggles daily with us. We are grateful that you are living life as you are.

As Elom rightly said, do not isolate yourself from help. Diligently seek help and wholeness will be your portion. Click here to watch Elom’s video where she talks about her journey.

Elom has a community of ladies – Heart to Heart Community – that meet every Tuesday to discuss God and have a space to be vulnerable to each other.

“Heart to Heart exists to provide a safe space for women to come together and have vulnerable authentic conversations in order for growth and healing. We have various socials and themed brunches throughout the year. We also meet weekly on a Tuesday for our bible studies, heart, and soul. This a chance for us to share what’s going on in our lives and allow GOD’s word to speak into it .” -Elom.

Heart to heart community.

Follow them on Instagram at @hearttoheartcommunity and join their Tuesday meetings at antique lemonade.

Thanks for your audience, we will be wrapping up on the depression series soon and I hope it has been insightful. I hope you open up more if you are going through a phase and seek help.

The movement on Mental Health awareness has just begun. I hope you join in and make the world a welcoming place for those who are dealing with mental health issues.

Till next time,
With love.
Afiya.