Nomvelo Makhanya

"I've been praying. I've been wanting to leave that place. It was something I had really been praying about, so when it finally happened, it really felt like God was removing me from the toxic environment"

"I probably would have killed myself. There was a 90% chance. That's how toxic that place was"

"This is absolutely wild, it's insane. This is for the little black girl sitting at home needing their dreams to be validated. This is it, this is our moment, this is our time! I’m eternally grateful. Little me is happy to have fulfilled my childhood dream"

"It is so hard because I literally put in so much work. I put in so much work for that story. But now it seems that my head is overlooking my work. You guys are not focused on my craft. You guys are more focused on my physicality and my head. I literally work so hard, but you know"

"all the way out to always find something wrong with someone and use that to bring them down"

"When I visited my psychiatrist he told me that he wanted me to book myself into hospital the next day. I was hesitant. I kept thinking, 'Dr. I need to get back to work tomorrow'. I was also scared that people wouldn’t understand and that I would be away with no support"

"I felt like I was drowning and felt like with every breath I was waging a war against myself"

"I didn’t really listen to what people were saying or worried what they thought of me but I did get judged"

"She asked me why I had the bands (admission bands) and I told her I was in hospital for depression, bipolar and anxiety. She started judging me and suggested that I was too young to be struggling with such problems. It shook me but I just shrugged it off"

"I want people to know that there is hope. You have to take it one day at a time and believe that it will get better. I still struggle some days and I have to talk to myself and let myself know that it will be alright, even if I don’t feel like it in the moment"

"I am in a much better space. Some days are better than others but I am doing better because I have learnt to make myself be present in the moment. I allow my feelings to overwhelm me if they have to. If I am sad, I will be sad. If I am happy, I will be happy. I stay true to myself now"

"My DMs are filled with people sharing their struggles and challenges. It is humbling to think that I can make a difference in their lives. I think it is really important that we start talking about depression, especially in black families. Depression is something that is not talked about, it is the devil, and because we don't talk about it, it affects us more. Talking about it helps"