There’s a kind of poverty in the world that is affecting more people than we care to realise. Like warped depictions of Africa there are those whose lives are perpetually covered in flies and tattered clothes scarcely hiding a kwashiorkor inflated belly.

It’s scary because unlike those depictions it is not nearly as blatant. We work with these people, we meet these people in daily interactions, and we go to church with these people, we may even be married to them or they may be our kids. These people appear to be happy or okay at the very least but many times we don’t know about the silent killer they may be carrying whose name is depression.

The other day I learnt about the unfortunate death of a young upcoming presenter who always seemed happy when I met her but is alleged to have been battling with depression and subsequently overdosed on Paracetamol.

I don’t know the full details of her life and I am not going to speculate further as to what she may have been going through but I just know that we lost another one, another young person who could have become a blessing to the community. She could have been the bright light on the hill for others to see and be inspired to live their best lives.

At this I point I know there are those who may say it was God’s will or her time had come to an end and that’s ok, it’s their opinion but it’s not what I’m addressing today. I’m talking about our systems that operate in denial that depression is a culture wide problem and not a “white” problem like it’s often referred to. Generally we don’t really understand depression and frown upon those who are said to suffer from it because surely they should just suck it up and stop dancing with the devil.

Speaking personally here, I don’t know one single person who has ever asked to be depressed or fallen into depression because of their own carelessness. What I do know about depression is that it’s serious and it can seriously affect your quality of life if you don’t know what it is and how to manage it.

It’s an elusive killer creeping into our lives by doors we may not realise have been opened when traumatic things happen to or around us. Because we believe as Africans that we are mentally strong we never see the blow coming when suddenly we find an entire family dead because a parent took their own life and the lives of their spouse and children.

We’ve heard these stories and often shake our heads in disgust summing it up to being mweya yetsvina (Evil trouble causing spirits). Yes there are evil spirits lurking on this plane and yes the devil prowls around like a lion seeking who he may devour but the reason why he is able to do that with depression is because we refuse to believe it exists and has a real impact and so we never deal with it adequately.

Dealing with depression isn’t about feeling sorry for the person battling with it. It’s about acknowledging that something is wrong and there is a need to open channels of communication to talk earnestly about it in a safe environment that doesn’t aggravate the problem when the child/person is treated like some kind of leper. I’ve seen firsthand how much damage it can cause when a condition is mismanaged.

I was that mismanaged case once upon a time and if it weren’t for being introduced to God while at school I could have very well been the next unfortunate death we are mourning about. I think of this young lady’s parents and I wonder how they feel losing a child not to illness or natural causes but to a bottomless pit that claims many millions of lives each year.

We make jokes about suicide and how we would never dream of taking our own lives but if the problem was that small why are so many people still making attempts on their own lives? Why do many of us have a secret incident when we seriously contemplated it or were even hospitalised after failed attempts.

One thing I really want to emphasize is that though we believe suicide is linked to demonic oppression there is no form of oppression that overtakes our power to choose. We have a choice to give up or a choice to brave the uncertainty and get help. The only challenge is that we are limited by ignorance and give up that power of choice. This isn’t just for depression but in all life issues.

The purpose of the gospel

God is not surprised by depression nor is he incapable of turning it around but many of us don’t yet know Him like that. We still think we have to be plastic with Him not just on our own but with the congregation too and so we only address bubble gum issues like prosperity and abstaining from sex.

Who deals with the deep dark feelings of worthlessness? Or of feeling disconnected from humanity? Who goes out of their way to love someone whose life can be significantly turned around by that love? When I think about things like SOZO now I realise that God wants to deal with the good the bad and the ugly because that’s what true love is. Its exposing darkness not for the shame of the afflicted but for the hope that those still afflicted can come to be saved.