Beneath the surface: Akothee's struggle with mental health

 Singer Akothee. (Courtesy)

Akothee had always been known for her unapologetic, larger-than-life personality. As a successful Kenyan musician, she had made a name for herself with her bold attitude and unrelenting energy on stage. But beneath the surface, Akothee was struggling with a monster in her head.

For years, something had been messing with her brain, making it difficult for her to manage her emotions and cope with the demands of her career and personal life. She felt overwhelmed and suffocated, like she was struggling to stay afloat in a sea of expectations and responsibilities.

"I was battling a monster in my head. Something was messing up with my brain, I was struggling inside a body fighting to live and a mind ready to switch off. I was overwhelmed with outbursts and uncontrolled emotions. I was struggling with being me without offending anyone, I was struggling to accept what fame throws at me," wrote Akothee in a recent Instagram post.

At first, she tried to ignore the problem, thinking it was just a passing phase. But as time went on, her mental health deteriorated further, and she found herself struggling to even get out of bed in the morning.

One day, she woke up with her left side numb, the feeling spreading from her neck to her leg. She panicked, thinking she had suffered a stroke, and rushed to the hospital. There, doctors diagnosed her with a pinched nerve and told her she needed surgery.

But even after the surgery, Akothee's health continued to decline. She was in constant pain and could barely lift her left arm. She also developed a lot of pain in her left ear, and despite multiple hospital visits, no one seemed to know what was causing it.

Feeling desperate and alone, Akothee decided to leave her mansion and move in with her sister-in-law, who had three young children. She found that the sound of their voices helped her sleep at night, but during the day, she still felt overwhelmed and exhausted.

It wasn't until she saw a doctor who finally recognized her symptoms as signs of depression that Akothee realized what was truly going on. She was put on antidepressants, but they only made her symptoms worse. She experienced heightened emotions and panic attacks, and found herself relying on stronger and stronger sleeping pills just to get some rest.

"For no reason, I felt alone in the world full of human beings, I lost energy and was completely exhausted sucked up and sucked put. I was put onto antidepressants which made me even worse, the emotions were doubled and crazy panic attacks," wrote Akothee.

One day, feeling at the end of her rope, Akothee asked her doctor to give her a strong sleeping medication through an injection, just so she could finally get some much-needed rest. It was a low point in her life, but it was also the beginning of her journey towards healing.

In 2020, Akothee bravely opened up about her struggles with mental health and shared the reason behind her frequent hospital visits between 2017 and 2019. She revealed that she had been suffering from panic attacks and mild depression for the three-year period. The cause of her mental health issues was toxic relationships with toxic people.

At the time, Akothee thought that her many hospital visits were due to energy burnout. She believed that she was working too much and not taking care of herself properly. However, she soon realized that the real cause of her health issues was the people around her. She had too many people who needed her more than she needed them, and they were draining her emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, and physically.

Akothee realized that she had been depending on the people around her to do things for her, and when she found out that they had not been done, she would become angry. However, she was afraid of losing these people, so she tried to fix things when it was already too late. The stress and anxiety of not being able to control her life and the people in it eventually took a toll on her mental health.

Akothee's many hospital visits caused people to raise eyebrows and make unfounded accusations about her health. Some people even accused her of doing drugs like cocaine. However, Akothee learned that her health is her wealth and that people's assumptions and judgments are often far from the truth. She realized that people are dealing with much more than meets the eye and that it is important to take care of one's mental health.

After coming out of her struggles with mental health, Akothee began a new chapter in her life. She took a pen and paper and wrote down all her worries, the people who were draining her, the relationships that made her feel empty, and the businesses that she could not control from afar. She decided to bite off only what she could chew and to be more mindful of whom she allowed into her life.