Abena Korkor: Battling mental health doesn’t deny one a celebrity status

Media personality and mental health advocate, Abena Korkor claims that just like everyone, people with mental health conditions deserve to be in the spotlight.

In a chat with Graphic Showbiz, she mentioned that people have spelt out who a celebrity should be because of some “standards”.       

“Ghanaians are judgmental and they have very high expectations of what someone in the glare of publicity should or should not be.

“They don't realise that we have our personal challenges and struggles. It's as if once you're in the spotlight, you're supposed to be flawless, and that's very unfair.

“People should be allowed to be themselves, go through their struggles, and even if they make mistakes, they should be given the space to breathe,” she stated.

Abena Korkor also noted that the judgmental nature of Ghanaians chastising her for deeds she mostly has no control over incites her mental breakdowns since she expects them to be accommodating.

The graduate of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) argued have that just like many others in the spotlight, she also works hard to maintain a facade of perfection while dealing with personal challenges behind the scenes.

Abena, who is the founder of Psychosocial Africa, entreated society to be more compassionate and understanding, emphasising that public figures are just as human as everyone else.

World Mental Health Day was marked globally on Tuesday, October 10 to highlight mental health challenges and offer more education about the health condition.

For Abena Korkor, the day is perhaps not given much attention in the country and she is urging relevant stakeholders to take mental health advocacy more seriously and empower institutions to actively support it.

“Not enough has been done about mental health advocacy in Ghana. However, NGOs and CSOs have done their part to some extent, and we hope to see more initiatives.

“Our media houses must continue to play a role in mental health advocacy, instead of just   focusing on it during special occasions or when a high-profile story emerges,” she said.