04: I had A Psychotic Relapse. Again. - With Patience Abonge

Living African

Welcome to the month of May; the Mental Health Awareness Month. This month, we will in part focus on mental health awareness. In our African community, most people living with mental illness (particularly when severe) are frequently stigmatized, shunned, and outcasted, making it difficult for people to express any mental health concerns. This has to change and it starts with creating awareness and having these uncomfortable conversations.

So in this episode, we have a familiar name from Season 1 - Patience Abonge. Her episode on Season 1 was one of the most listened to, and reviewed as her story touched many and brought forth the awareness of why we need to keep asking our loved ones the “Are you okay?” question, but this time, with intention and genuine interest to know what they’re going through mentally.

Meet Our Guest

Patience is a support worker who advocates for mental health in our community. She has suffered from anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. She is here to speak more about her recent relapse and her goal is to use her story to motivate and inspire others while emphasizing the need to continue having these conversations.

Contact Patience:

Tiktok: @patienceabonge8

Facebook: Patience Abonge

Things You Will Learn in This Episode:

[00:01 – 03:00] Introduction

• Introducing our guest - Patience Abonge

[03:00 – 25:00] Patience Shares Her Relapse Story

• Why she relapsed
• The amount of time spent at the health facility
• The effect of lack of support

[25:00 – 45:00] Recovery & How We All Can Help People Dealing With Mental Issues

• What steps and procedures worked for Patience
• Ask people how to help them
• Getting professional help
• Talking to people who have experienced similar mental health issues
• Patience's recovery so far

[45:00 – 52:00] Addressing Important Issues

• Patience's advice on how to approach mental health disorders
• Patience's final words
• Anyoh's final words

Tweetable Quotes

“First of all, you have to identify the reasons or the causes of your mental health issues because you alone will know what the trigger is. Are you in financial difficulty? Are you unhappy in a relationship? Are you suffering from childhood trauma? Are you suffering from a loss? When you identify what the cause is then you can find a solution.” - Patience Abonge

“Seek help from professionals or people with experience in mental health-related issues because people with experience would know exactly what you’re going through and how to help you go through this difficult phase of your life.” - Patience Abonge

“Asking me to be positive in such difficult times is not what I need. Ask me how you can help me, what you can do for me or support me with. Don’t come in thinking you know what am going through and you have a solution or suggestion when you haven’t spoken to me yet.” - Patience Abonge

“The worst thing that could ever happen, which tends to relatively be common in our African community is that a lot of people use a mental illness against the patient's going through it. Whenever the patient has a concern or an issue they want to have a conversation about, people presume they’re having an episode or a relapse and that’s so insensitive” - Anyoh Fombad

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You can connect with Anyoh on Facebook (@anyohf), Instagram (@anyohfombad), and Twitter (@anyohfombad).