Entrepreneur,
Ubi Franklin, music artiste, Banky W and Dr. Gbonjubola Abiri joined
the founder of Joy, Inc., Chude Jideonwo at The Joy
Masterclass which took place on Saturday, 28 July, 2018 in Lekki,
Lagos.
Themed
‘Dealing with Depression’, the masterclass focused on the principles of
human flourishing, wellbeing and living a life leveraging
positive emotions, healthier habits and powerful self-awareness
practices, as the guests and participants shared personal stories and
practical ways of addressing depression and the rising suicide rate
among Nigerians.
Recommending a “love yourself enough to try” attitude to life, award winning musician and actor, Banky Wellington – fondly
known as Banky W – led
an honest and deeply personal exploration of how he dealt with and
overcame depression with over one hundred participants at The Joy
Masterclass last weekend.
Speaking
at the event, Ubi Franklin, founder, Made Men Music Group (MMMG),
shared powerful stories about his previous suicidal thoughts.
He explained the need to avoid creating negative pictures in the mind
or attaching importance to specific dates that represent bad moments,
but instead use such days or moments as an impetus for success.
“There’s
never a right moment to commit suicide. It’s all about the mind.
Depression is usually created through silent pressure which will
create a negative mindset, perception, or the compulsion to live our
lives in order not to disappoint our parents, families or communities,”
he said.
The
event also featured a joint session at the masterclass where Dr.
Gbonjubola Abiri, a psychiatrist, medical doctor and member of Joy,
Inc.’s advisory board, and Gbemisola Ogunrinde, a psychologist, author
of ‘Keeping it Together in a Crazy and Uncertain World’ and member of
the Central Working Committee at Joy, Inc. engaged participants on
therapeutic mechanisms towards preventing and overcoming
depression.
“No
one is immune to depression, so as long as you have a brain, you can
succumb to it.
Some people are vulnerable due to their biological
condition, or any other facet, which many therapists have to look out
for. It can also be a combination of different factors, so it becomes
necessary that to address the issue, every professional needs to find
out the source of the problem,” said Dr. Abiri.
“More
importantly, victims of depression need to open up and talk to people –
that way, it becomes easy to identify the problem,” Gbemisola
added.
The
event was jointly organized by Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative and
SheWritesWoman – two internationally recognized mental health
non-governmental organizations – alongside Joy, Inc., the benefit
corporation focused on building happier, flourishing and fearless
Africans leveraging the latest evidences in happiness research and human
flourishing.
Ijeoma Ndukwe, founder of Share Anonymous also launched the platform - www.shareanonymous.org,
a web platform for difficult and traumatic
experiences like sexual abuse, rape, sexual molestation and harassment
to be shared anonymously through the power in empathy. She also advised
individuals who have experienced depression, forms of violence and
traumatic experiences to seek help without the
fear of being judged.
Hosted
by Chude Jideonwo, founder of Joy, Inc., The Joy Masterclass is an
intensive class administered for individuals, teams and leaders
that weaves the confluence of thinking and research about happiness,
human flourishing and resilience - across Psychology, Economics,
Divinity and Philosophy - into practical lessons, habits and tools that
help participants transform their thinking, attitudes
and actions. Often adopted into specific themes and customized for
specific audiences, the masterclass has been taught across several
cities in 5 cities in 3 countries.
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