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Coco Lee, Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter, dies at 48 after suicide attempt

Coco Lee, Hong Kong-born singer-songwriter, dies at 48 after suicide attempt

HONG Kong-born American singer Coco Lee died at 48 following a suicide attempt that left her in a coma, Lee's two sisters, Carol and Nancy Lee, said in a statement posted on Instagram and Facebook. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nancy Si Lin Lee (@nancy_yauyetei) Lee died in Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, where she had been living. "Although Coco sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her," the statement said. "On 2 July, she committed suicide at home and was sent…
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Dancing the blues away: Nigerian salsa teacher fights mental health stigma

Dancing the blues away: Nigerian salsa teacher fights mental health stigma

NIGERIA'S Emeka Adindu says salsa saved his life. Growing up in a country with a deep-rooted stigma against mental health issues, Adindu, 35, found solace in the popular Latin dance as he battled abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts. He now helps others do the same - with free dance classes in the capital city Abuja. "Salsa was the only thing that could make me smile all those days that I was battling, fighting with my demon," he says. A 2021 UNICEF report shows one in six Nigerians aged between 15 and 24 are depressed, anxious or have other mental health…
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Teen mothers and depression: lack of support from partners and violence are big drivers in Malawi and Burkina Faso

Teen mothers and depression: lack of support from partners and violence are big drivers in Malawi and Burkina Faso

UP to one in four African girls have their first child before the age of 18. Becoming a mother at such a young age can lead to mental health problems like depression. Research suggests that pregnant and parenting teenagers have poorer mental health than adult mothers. Authors ANTHONY IDOWU AJAYI, Associate research scientist, African Population and Health Research Center ELITA CHAMDIMBA, Research fellow, Centre for Social Research, University of Malawi Several factors make teenage mothers vulnerable to mental illness. For example, in conservative societies pregnant, unmarried adolescent girls are shamed and excluded. Parenting is stressful. Early and unintended pregnancy can…
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This young Nigerian has developed online therapy to help youth access mental health care

This young Nigerian has developed online therapy to help youth access mental health care

VICTOR EYIKE, BIRD STORY AGENCY WHEN Moses Aiyenuro fell into a depression in 2019 after failing his engineering exams, he was unable to access mental healthcare. "My life turned around. I felt like a failure. I withdrew from people," he explained. Luckily for him, he came into contact with a trained therapist, and they started talking online via WhatsApp. "After talking with her, I felt good and then later thought, 'How can I replicate this'? I did a survey with my phone contact list and found that about 65 per cent had issues but couldn't contact family and would have…
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Djokovic sympathises with Osaka, but says media is important

Djokovic sympathises with Osaka, but says media is important

JULIEN PRETOT NOVAK Djokovic said he understood Naomi Osaka's decision to boycott post-match press conferences, which he thinks could feel outdated for a player of the Japanese's age. The Serbian, who eased into the second round at Roland Garros, also expressed sympathy for the 23-year-old Osaka, who revealed she had been suffering from depression. Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday after being fined $15,000 by the tournament referee and threatened with exclusion from Roland Garros and future majors for declining to face the media after her first-round match on Sunday. "The Grand Slams are protecting themselves and their…
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‘We are Nelli Tembe, and she is us’

‘We are Nelli Tembe, and she is us’

AFRICA MIRROR REPORTER THE tragic death of 22-year-old Anele Nelli Tembe, the fiance of rap superstar AKA has brought into sharp focus the plight of millions of South Africans battling with mental health. Tembe fell to her death from the 10th floor of a hotel in Cape Town on Saturday, leaving AKA and her family devastated. Yesterday, many South Africans who struggle with and manage depression and other mental ailments on a daily basis, took to social media not only to identify with Tembe but to push for the destigmatization of mental health. The social media movement came on the…
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Kevin Spacey tells people who are struggling ‘It does get better’

Kevin Spacey tells people who are struggling ‘It does get better’

OSCAR-winner Kevin Spacey has appealed to people who were struggling with shame or depression not to take their own lives. Spacey, who has largely disappeared from public view since being accused of sexual misconduct three years ago, made the plea in a Christmas Eve video titled "1-800 Xmas" that he posted on YouTube. Filming himself walking in a park, Spacey said a lot of people had reached out to him in 2020 to share their struggles and some had spoken about wanting to end their lives. "If you're suffering, if you need help, if you feel guilt or shame, if…
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Coronavirus: the pandemic is changing our brains –  here are the remedies

Coronavirus: the pandemic is changing our brains – here are the remedies

BARBARA JACQUELYN SAHAKIAN, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Cambridge CHRISTELLE LANGLEY, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Cambridge DENIZ VATANSEVER, Junior Principal Investigator, Fudan University WHETHER you have contracted COVID-19 or not, your brain is likely to have changed over the past few months. The virus itself can cause a number of neurological problems, along with anxiety and depression. The isolation and worry caused by the pandemic can similarly alter our brain chemistry and cause mood disorders. In our new paper, published in Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, we have investigated how to best overcome the brain changes linked to the…
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