Zimkhitha

25 July 2023

The Mommy Club S1: Ratile shares her depression experience

Self-care means different things to different people. While for some it’s about going to the spa for a pamper session, for others, it means taking care of your mental wellbeing. This is what viewers got to see and understand on the latest episode of Showmax Original reality show The Mommy Club.

In episode 5, the ladies had one of their bonding sessions, this time hosted by Ratile. The intention, as with their other get-togethers, was to get to know each other a little better. While the yummy mommies were enjoying their food and having casual conversations, Ms Manche asked a very important question: “How do you guys do the self-care? How do you handle all of everything and still be fabulous?”

Watch The Mommy Club teasers online

The ladies get candid

Mrs Mops was the first to answer and jokingly told her co-stars: “I just drink myself to sleep.” She then asked Ms Manche how she does it. The mother of three replied: “How I do it is, pick up when I’m starting to feel annoyed. Feeling like ‘ugh, I’m dragging the day’ or when the babies wake me up and I’m like ‘oh no’, you know? Then I know.”

This session also gave Ratile a chance to open up about her struggles with mental health. She shared with the ladies: “You know most times I’m depressed, and I’ve been on medication for some time. But over time I obviously got weaned off the medication, but every time I’m not coping my psychiatrist will always say to me ‘get back on the meds’,” Ratile said.

It’s not all glitz and glam

Ms Manche was pleased with how the conversation turned out as she feels it’s important to speak about depression. “People shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. People should see that you can be glitz and glam, and you can go through depression, you can feel thoughts that maybe you can’t understand.” She added that people need to seek help.

She also encouraged more open conversations about mental health, especially in spaces occupied by women. “We must be able to speak freely in spaces like this if we’re saying, ‘okay, we’re women, we’re going to be there for each other, we’re developing friendships.’ I love that,” Ms Manche said.

Watch new episodes of The Mommy Club every Tuesday on Showmax.

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