Former Nation FM presenter, Tina Kagia, opened up on how she once attempted death by suicide after falling into depression as a result of her failed marriage.
Ms. Kagia narrated how depression messed up her life, even though she seemed to have what many people would have envied as a good life, marriage and a career that had given her fame and money.
She said that amidst her depression, she would sleep all day and did not want any human contact. She also became an alcoholic.
“I did not know I was depressed until I started getting such comments from people close to me. I hated music and I am a music junkie. Music was annoying me. I was also in hoodies and shades. I would also have headphones all the time yet I wasn’t listening to anything,” she said.
In an interview with Angel Waruinge, Ms. Kagia said that at one point, she took lots of pills in an attempt to end her llife
”I had suicidal thoughts every now and then. We were in a meeting when someone said,‘you keep saying you will kill yourself please don’t do it before this date.’ To date I do not blame the person, because it was innocently said. That is when I snapped out of the suicidal thoughts,” she said.
Two months later she attempted suicide.
I tried to commit suicide and it was almost successful, I was out cold in ICU for 9 days. I have a bit of recollection but I don’t remember all the events of that day. I remember I went to my favourite restaurant and asked for fries and I was joking with the waiter on how those were the last fries I would ever eat. And he just looked at me thinking, what this girl is saying.
“When I woke up and I did not know where I was, I also did not have a voice and that shocked me. My aunt came to visit and that is when she told me what transpired. Later I started having hallucinations maybe because of the pills I took. I am now very cautious of what I watch and listen to,” she said.
In previous interviews, Tina Kagia has narrated how the mess in her marriage and, the anger she had been bottling up, made her crumble inside to the point she started drinking heavily.
Her father had tried to intervene and help during the hard times, praying, convincing the couple to go through counselling and even sending her husband friends to talk to him.
Eventually, when the mental strain became unbearable, she took a break from radio and became inaccessible, with only family being able to see her.
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“I disappeared for four months because I needed medical attention for depression; I was suicidal at this point,” she said.