The World Bank reports that 22% of Nigerians--that’s a staggering 41.8 million citizens--suffer from depression.

In 2019, the duo, Fortune Bekee and Kuro Briggs launched Truthshare, www.truthshare.com.ng, an online platform that’s leveraging the power of storytelling and technology to drive depression away as far as possible, and limit its ripple effects on the minds and lives of young Africans.

Truthshare is helping Nigerians have a better mental health by providing an anonymous online writing tool and access to qualified licensed counselors.

We were touched by the increasing number of suicides being committed recently. And while discussing, we thought some of these deaths could have been stopped if the victims probably talked about it with someone, anyone, who’d be open enough to understand their plights and accepting them. We decided to come up with this solution which is already making an impact,” Fortune says.

Over time, the writing therapy (administered by therapists) posits that writing one's feelings gradually eases feelings of emotional trauma. The University of Rochester informs that "simply writing down your thoughts and feelings helps to understand them more clearly. And if you struggle with stress, depression, or anxiety, keeping a journal is a great idea. "

Be that as it may, telling stories isn’t enough to curb an emotional menace that could sink a soul into a mental upheaval in no time. The team recognises this fact and adopts a three-fold approach to Truthshare--a free online writing tool to help users relieve themselves of any emotional distress, counsellors matched with depressed users, and offline seminars that double as therapeutic and psychological sessions-- all designed to offer a long-lasting solution.

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But there’s still the challenge of encouraging people to ‘speak up’. Bearing the societal consciousness in mind, Truthshare protects the identity of users with its anonymous feature.

“A greater idea is even having users who have passed through similar scenarios or experienced counsellors respond to what other users have written. Not so many people in this region are aware of this great idea. And we are here to educate them.”

In the read stories section, we can see all the stories and responses to these stories. All these have been achieved with little or no online awareness. The more people we reach the more we will be able to touch more lives. Already, we have touching stories of people we have counselled and talked to and they are really happy.

Building a platform where people share their stories, get help and be happy is a strong motivation for Bekee and Briggs. But their solution doesn’t just stop at sharing stories--because, as it’s said, “a problem shared is only half solved”. And Truthshare doesn’t exist to solve part problems. This is why licensed counsellors enlisted on the platform are often matched with chronic depression victims based on users’ request. There’s also the peer-to-peer engagement where folks undergoing similar plights could anonymously engage and offer related counsel.

The goal, as Fortune puts it, is to first ensure that the average Nigerian gets better mental health and citizens feeling depressed having a chance to talk to someone, without being stigmatised.

Globally, depression is the second-leading cause of disability, with slightly more than 4% of the world's population diagnosed with it. World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) has identified Africa to have countries with the highest rates of depression.

The Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria says about 20 to 30 percent of Nigerians suffer from mental illness. And it has led to some of them committing suicide. We can trace the causes of depression for an average Nigerian to a million issues, but in a situation where Nigeria, the hallmark of the African continent ranks 10th in Africa and 67th in the world in terms of suicide rate, there’s an urgency that cannot be overlooked.

Perhaps we’re being too futuristic to sense that it’s already robbing us of our chances right now. For instance, one of the leading causes of depression sprout in Nigeria is the country’s unemployment problems which have gone on for longer than one could keep track.

The solution, Truthshare, is supposed to channel a lost cause to a refined purpose in this manner; a depressed mind anonymously expresses thoughts and dissatisfaction on the platform, a response is given without an iota of stigmatisation, advice from professional minds and counsellors follow suit, physical gatherings to further strengthen victims and avoid relapse are scheduled, healing begins, and the mind becomes clear and stable to think solutions to Africa’s pressing problems.

The resultant effects; entrepreneurship is born; unemployment solved, depression gone, suicide uncontemplated, another African life saved, and mental illness chased.

Also, the online platform is looking to solve the alarming unemployment issue in Nigeria by providing jobs in counselling sessions, especially for graduates in psychology who’d love to practise their profession.

Truthshare is piloting its cause in Nigeria, giving the growing stats of the said problem across the country-- 20 - 30% of Nigerians suffer from mental illness. The team believes it’s the perfect place to begin and cause so much impact in the shortest possible time.

Beyond lives that are being touched by Truthshare, the team has had quite a number of feats since inception. For instance, in November 2019, Truthshare won a grant from the Make In Nigeria pitch competition.

In a few years time, the team hopes the initiative will touch 10,000 (ten thousand) lives monthly while providing jobs for all counsellors who’d will be part of impacting these lives.

Across times and seasons, the saying “the pen is mightier than the sword” has mostly been connoted for writing in order to forge peace and it holds true in many situations. But this time around, [url]Truthshare [/url]is bringing a new definition to this lifelong saying by championing a course to suppress depression in the simplest possible way--writing to live.

Nice idea. Will check it out.

Awesome ! Depression is real people....As one of the many Nigerians who's a life-long suffer of this terrible mental illness, I approve this message.