Dakore Egbuson-Akande #WithChude

Multi-brand ambassador and award-winning actress, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, opens up on her struggle with postnatal depression, battle for her mental health and the road to recovery on the new episode of #WithChude.

Speaking on how her seemingly perfect life and recent transition to motherhood deteriorated into postpartum depression, Dakore said, “I had some slight complications after the birth of my daughter. I was in a sad state, and I just slipped into postnatal depression. I didn’t even realise it when it started happening.”

After a conversation with a trusted, older friend who helped her identify the source of her sudden and recurrent mood swings, Dakore visited her OB/GYN, who confirmed that she was indeed suffering from symptoms of postnatal depression.

“I started to realise that I wasn’t using my creativity, so it was dying inside. This was after four years of being away from work. I just had this consistent and persistent sadness – a lack of joy – almost like I would be struggling to reach the joy, then sometimes I would be very manic-like very happy, then very sad,” she revealed.

“After a while, I started going to therapy. My therapist asked me what I used to do before I had my baby, and I told her I was an actor. She said to me, ‘It’s probably because you’re not doing what you’re used to doing, you’ve been doing this since you were a kid, and now you’ve suddenly stopped'”.

Through the support of her therapist and a supportive friend, Dakore was able to identify that her depression emanated from the recent readjustments that had been happening in her life. With a slow but eventual return to acting and the entertainment industry at large, Dakore was able to pull through and regain control of her life and mental health.

#WithChude is a special series of targeted multimedia conversations and investigations focused on narratives that enable and strengthen the mind, heart, and spirit. New episodes of #WithChude show every Saturday at 9 pm on TVC Entertainment, with reruns every Sunday on Wazobia TV at 5 pm and Thursday on EbonyLife TV at 7:30 pm.