Comedian Emeka battled depression for a month, due to “loss and betrayal”

Comedian Collins Bareija alias Emeka has come out to share how he went through depression for a full month, adding it was due to loss and betrayal.

Recently, Emeka tweeted saying he hadn’t been in the right state of mind for one month. He said it ate him up because he couldn’t let anyone know about it.

Without revealing details, the comedian and morning show presenter at Galaxy FM told Plugged that the depression had to do with “betrayal and loss”.

“I prayed, then talked to my friend and cousin. They helped a lot. Then I kept myself busy,” he said in an interview with Plugged.

And this is not the first time the entertainer has been down this path. He said he has suffered a similar episode in the past.

Comedians are often perceived to be the last victims of depression. This is because of the nature of their art which requires them to be witty and make fun out of the most complex subjects. On his social media, Emeka is known to post a lot of banter and make pranks, something that creates an impression he is always joyful.

Until he came out to share his experience, nobody could have guessed.

Beyond Uganda, Lenny Bruce, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Greg Giraldo, Mitch Hedberg and Robin Williams are among the cases of funny folks who have all sadly succumbed to drug overdose, depression and suicide.

The issue of (lack of) mental health among comics became so prominent in the U.S., the Laugh Factory in Hollywood was forced to hire an on-site psychologist. 

On how much stigma (from the impression the public has on comedians) influenced his silence about anxiety, Emeka said; “Yea. There are those who stigmatized me but I don’t blame them because given my job, I’m always supposed to be happy. But hey, everyone goes through a breakdown”.

He said he chose to come out about it because “I wanted to inspire people who are going through the same that they’re not alone”.

“I wanted to let them know that the best thing to do when you suffer a breakdown is talking to someone, and that everything will be ok. Also, I wanted people to know that everyone goes through a mental breakdown and there are different ways of dealing with it,” he added.

The long list of celebrities in the Ugandan entertainment industry who have at one point battled depression and related mental health problems goes to show these people have emotions too and this leads them to feel at their lowest like any other person.

In Uganda, the list includes Martha Kay who disclosed she went through a “nasty depression” in 2019 after her nude pictures were leaked on social media. She has previously said that from it, she took a number of lessons – including the fact that time heals.

In May of this year, BET Award winner, Eddy Kenzo also came out publicly on how he faced suicidal thoughts while in Ivory Coast when the Covid pandemic had just broken out and international travel was banned.

“I was depressed, I had run out of money, I didn’t have anyone to turn to yet I was getting a lot of backlash back at home. I reached a point of wanting to kill myself,” Kenzo said during his album listening party at Fairway Hotel.

Last year, singer Pius Mayanja alias Pallaso revealed that his brother Weasel was still dealing with depression, two years after his singing partner Mowzey Radio died. Pallaso told Pastor Wilson Bugembe that Weasel needed prayers, love and support.

TV personality, Diana Nabatanzi, also suffered depression after her ex-lover, Lwasa Emmanuel disclosed their secrets. He claimed she had refused to give him a child for the five years they had been dating. In an Instagram post, Nabatanzi said dealing with depression begins with one accepting they are depressed.

The other victims of depression have been Jose Chameleone, MC Kats and Jackie Chandiru who confessed she at one point contemplated taking her own life.