Thread by @Noisey_I

Thank you for the awesome session on mental health @GraceLinda21 on the #360Mentor by @rkabushenga and @Comrade_Otoa. You really spoke to me when you talked about grief. We don't talk about it enough and from experience I would advise anyone overwhelmed by grief to seek help.

My journey with grief began last year in November when I lost my mother. For anyone that knows me really well, my mother was my closest friend. She was my best greatest inspiration, my everything and I never ever imagined life without her.

How she was passed was so sudden. One week she was okay and the next week-each and every day she kept withering away. It took a day for her to stop talking, then another to stop walking and another to stop breathing on her own and I watched it all to the end.

The last day I saw her I knew she wouldn't make it to see the next day and indeed when I got up the next day she was gone. Being the first born, I immediately thought about my young siblings and my dad and told myself I needed to be strong.

And indeed I was. I gave a moving speech without really tearing and for the next couple of months I acted like everything was okay. I was back to work after 4 days and running around sorting family affairs. And even when I tried to cry I couldn't cry.

I knew something was terribly wrong with me when after 6 months I struggled to remember my mother's face, I struggled to cry or feel any normal emotions of sadness or excitement, I lost faith in God and was always anxious.

@GraceLinda21 reached out and told me we needed to talk. I really didn't know what was there to talk about but I knew I wasn't fine so I took that first step to get help.
I am so glad I did. The first session I had with @GraceLinda21 was the first time I really cried.

@GraceLinda21 didn't really give me the answers to the many questions and doubts I had but she got me to feel, she got me to really talk about mum, she got me to remember who she was, the memories we shared and her face.

After over 6 months I can say I began to really mourn, I began to cry, I began to feel and I began to heal and find myself and my purpose.

This November will mark a year since mum passed. Some days are hard and others ok. I know I am getting better because I now have the strength to acknowledge that my mum existed and I remember who she was. I am so glad I got to talk to @GraceLinda21 and a couple of people about it