Depression is not something taken seriously in my country. As more youths (whose biggest problem should be fashion and grades) turn to drugs and crimes, the society continues to downplay depression as a cause.

The murder rate and the suicide rate in the country seems to be competing. The issues blamed range from drugs, finances, governance and everything but the emotional wellbeing of the people.

If people the society recognizes as jolly are getting suicidal, how much more, a single parent often viewed as a person of disrepute in a number of cultures.

A single parent has one anchor, the child. That is the reason single parents would always put their child first. They would celebrate every milestone, no matter how irrelevant it seems and blow up over every failing no matter how mundane it seems.

The success of the child makes facing the traffic, dealing with the financial and sociopolitical barriers all worth it.

Permit me to say that it's why single parents often raise kids who are extremely principled. You would have to be a very sadistic child to experience a single parent's labour of love and not desire to see her smile more than cry.

Single parents have their low moments often when alone. Those short breaths taken without the kids around and no chores. Those moments when you are relaxing and think of the land you didn't buy because you had to pay rent, or the school you couldn't put your child because you just cleared hospital bills.

You just take a deep breath, remember the milestones already celebrated and envision those ahead. Focus on those and never give depression a chance to drop a seed much less take root in you.

You didn't get this far with your child to become the one who distracted him or her from the goal by getting depressed.

God loves you and if you don't believe in God, I love you too 💕

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