Saumu Mbuvi, daughter of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, has opened up on her battle with mental illness.
In a recent online interview, the mother of two admits she’s battled bipolar disorder for the past eight years.
“I did not know I was bipolar until I had a breakdown which was very bad and that I had to be taken to hospital and that is when I was diagnosed with bipolar eight years ago. For the longest time, I did not know I had bipolar but it took this main trigger,” explained Mbuvi.
Mbuvi further says it took a break-up with her ex-lover for the situation to worsen.
“My first trigger was when I was going through my first heartbreak. I had my first breakdown and didn’t even know who I was. I lost control of myself completely.”
Matters have not been helped with what she describes as ‘difficult’ romantic relationships she’s engaged himself in.
In 2019, Mbuvi publicly confessed she was battling depression after breaking up with the father of her first-born daughter which led her to take antidepressants.
She broke up with her first baby daddy namely Ben Gatu in 2017.
She then dated Lamu Senator Anuar Loitiptip but the relationship lasted less than two years.
“I think I’ve been going for narcissists that have been dragging me down because they are the worst people to deal with if you are bipolar. Like my previous relationship, I would be in the hospital after every one or two months being admitted. Because I had numerous hypomania episodes, and once I get to hypomania where I am breaking down, I usually never sleep. I can go up to four days without sleeping.”
“I used to break down, the person would call me crazy and tell me I was mad and those things would really hurt me. But I’ve learnt because this is something I never wished for but I am managing how to live with it. It is not as if it has stopped me from living my life.”
It got worse for her after she gave birth to her second child with the politician.
“It got worse for me after giving birth to my second baby, especially having to go through postpartum depression while being bipolar. My main trigger is I can’t use certain drugs. I can’t use weed and be around certain people who are annoying and want to see the worst in me, so I had to change and set boundaries in terms of the people who are around me.”
Mental illness is a big problem, she says, especially among the youth and society should stop stigmatizing the disorder to label individuals as crazy.
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