The multi-talented Unathi Nkayi recently took to Instagram to share a snippet of her journey through clinical depression.
She wrote on how her children, Snako and Imbo, reminded her of the depressed person she used to be five years ago saying that she used to “shout” at them for everything.
In the caption accompanied by pictures and a short video clip, she wrote: “’THERAPY TUESDAY KIDS’. My daughter and son over the weekend were reminding me of how different I was 5 to 6 years ago.
“My daughter started by laughing and saying ‘Snako do you remember how Mom used to shout at us for everything about 5 to 6 years ago?’ They both laughed and told me how much they prefer the patient, kind and most importantly fun mom I am now.”
She continued to write how she explained to them the concept of “hurt people, hurt people” and apologised to the pair for her unfair treatment.
“I explained to them the concept of ‘Hurt people hurt people’ and that transitioning through the divorce was hard for me. I apologised to them for all the unfair treatment I clearly put them through and thanked them for holding me accountable for how I was back then and how I made them feel.”
At the end she wrote: “I’m off to therapy bo love.”
Nkayi is not the first celebrity to open up about her battle with depression and most certainly won’t be the last.
In the past years musician Simphiwe Dana, comedian and actress Nina Hastie and TV presenter Lalla Hirayama have also opened up about their struggles.
Rapper Riky Rick, unfortunately, lost his battle in February 2002.
In her moving tell-all memior “I Keep Learning”, Nkayi spoke of her dark days when she used to consume alcohol every day to cope and survive.
“I had to time it very well. My kids’ bedtime was 8:30pm, so I would drink from that time and make sure I was sober by 5am when they woke up.
“I needed to be sober for them and the listeners on Metro FM. I didn’t want my children to see me at my lowest. Through my experience I’ve learnt that it’s OK to be not OK,” she wrote in the book.
Through it all, she said therapy has helped her a lot.