Seek help from psychologists - Aweele to celebs
MENTAL health issues have not been given the attention they deserve and the fear of being stigmatised has stopped people from seeking psychological help and they are suffering in silence.
As someone who has experienced his fair share of the “burden” of being in the spotlight since featuring on Chorkor Trotro on TV3, actor/comedian, Hubert Attukwei, popularly known as Aweele, is entreating celebrities to seek help to maintain their sanity.
According to him, the actions of some celebrities in word and in deeds did not surprise him because they had mental health issues and refused to seek medical help.
“It will be difficult to admit that fame is a lonely path and more importantly, you don’t get people to speak the truth to you because they want to be in your good books. It makes you feel untouchable and you feel you don’t need anyone’s advice and that is how the mental breakdown begins.
“You are forced to live your life to please the masses even when you are going through difficult moments and when you are overwhelmed by emotions, your last resort is to pour it on social media and that’s where it gets nasty. It is about time we started talking about mental health and its importance,” he told Graphic Showbiz.
Talk about celebrities seeking help for their mental well-being has come up because of happenings in the entertainment industry.
For instance, some people believe actress Tracey Boakye’s outbursts on social media lately may be due to post-partum depression, a complex mix of physical, emotional, and behavioural changes that some women experience after giving birth.
Aweele pointed out that the conversations about mental health should not be limited to recent happenings but broadened to help people to get a better perspective.
“What will encourage or push any woman in her right mind to showcase her nudity to the world on social media but this is happening and unfortunately, it is spearheaded by our celebrities.
“I’m not supporting these actions but you see, the desire to always get attention and get people talking about you is high so when that never happens, you are likely to get a mental breakdown and it will push you to do anything to get attention.
“Thanks to social media, it is easier to achieve that and as a comedian, I have learnt a lot about mental health to help my craft and from what I have observed and learnt, I think we are not doing enough about it,” he noted.
Aweele honed his acting skills on By The Fireside in 1992 and 1993 but his big break came on Chorkor Trotro which also featured another comedian, Funny Face. He has also featured on Jamestown Fisherman.
For now, Aweele’s own production titled, Asaase Sea Man, has been showing on GHOne every Friday at 8:00 p.m and disclosed that his new project, Hostel Series, would be on screens soon.