‘I was always sad’ — Dakore Akande recounts battle with postnatal depression

Dakore Egbuson-Akande, a Nigerian actress, has recounted how she battled with postnatal depression and her journey to recovery.

The movie star brought the revelation to light during a recent episode of #WithChude wherein she reflected on her tumultuous transition to motherhood.

Postnatal depression is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth that many parents experience. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability and changes in sleeping or eating patterns.

The 42-year-old disclosed that after the birth of her daughter, she had experienced “slight complications” — a development which left her in a sad state.

Dakore said the situation would later deteriorate, resulting in postnatal depression which kept her away from acting for about four years.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

The award-winning actress said after having a conversation with a trusted friend, she visited a therapist who confirmed that she was indeed suffering from symptoms of the postnatal disorder.

“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,” she added.

Dakore, however, said with the support of the therapist as well as friends, she was able to overcome the disorder and gradually returned to the entertainment landscape.