Denola Adepetun, popularly known as Denola Grey, sat with Betty Irabor on the latest episode of Life Lessons to discuss his battle with anxiety, what triggered it, and how he overcame.

The media personality revealed that he began suffering anxiety from a young age and this anxiety developed into depression. He believes it was triggered by the bullying he was subjected to as a child.

“It got really bad in 2010. I was in Texas,” he explained.

He said he developed a distrust and fear for people and this led to excessive drinking. This continued until he decided that wasn’t the life he wanted for himself. 

He started seeing a therapist in 2012 when he was meant to move back to Nigeria.

He explained: “Because for me, Nigeria represented a lot of pain, I was bullied as a child.”

He disclosed that he was bullied in boarding school in Kwara state because his body was too skinny and this made his head look bigger. He was also bullied because he wasn’t “masculine”, didn’t play sports, and all the other things boys are known to enjoy. 

“In boarding school in Adesoye, my nickname for two years was Barbie. I was like 11, 12 years old. It was so mean. Kids are awful.”

He recalled returning to the hostel to find his locker outside, with all his belongings strewn all over the floor. He also revealed that kids used to pee in his bucket of water. He said this made him believe that “people don’t like me.”

“When you think you’re not worth much, you start believing you’re not worth much and depression preys on that.

“When I was 12 was when my full’fledged depression started.”

He explained that he continued dealing with anxiety and depression for years until he opened up to his mother and she suggested he sees a therapist.

Seeing the therapist started him on his journey to recovery.

Life Lessons with Betty Irabor is brought to you by Linda Ikeji TV. The show was directed by Ruyi Irabor and produced by Toyosi Etim-Effiong. 

New episodes will be released every Tuesday on Linda Ikeji TV and other select online platforms. Life Lessons is sponsored by Nescafé and Maggi.