This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
On September 13, 2019, media personality Ciru Muriuki broke her long hiatus on Instagram, sharing a video that revealed she had been going through a difficult period in her life.
As a BBC Africa journalist and former NTV presenter, Ciru attributed her absence on social media to her demanding job, which left her with little time for personal activities.
However, she revealed that her job was not the only reason for her absence. Ciru also struggled with her mental health, experiencing anxiety and depression.
“I have been MIA on social media for a bit. The biggest reason is work. Work can get really busy and don’t get me wrong, I love my job but it’s also really demanding…then there is also the fact that I have been struggling a bit with my mental health. I’ve had moments of great anxiety, I’ve had a couple of depressed moments,” she said.
She further explained that her depression was not just a fleeting feeling, but rather a prolonged period of emotional distress that made it difficult for her to perform daily tasks.
“You know what, I’m understating it when I say depressed moments it sounds like I felt down for about three minutes and sixty three seconds and that’s not the case. I’ve had periods of days and days turning to weeks that I’ve just not been okay and because I’ve not been okay I have not had the motivation to do much other than work and sleep,” Ciru said.
Additionally, Ciru revealed that she had been struggling with her self-image, citing her weight gain as a major contributor to her low self-esteem.
“I had started working out this year and then I stopped and since then, I’ve put on quite some weight and I’m not really loving myself physically right now because I’m at my absolute thickest I’ve ever been. You know there are times you walk past your mirror and you’re like what is that rhino in my room, oh no it’s me. So I’ve really been struggling with my self-image and if you’re not really feeling great about yourself you’re not going to be posting many pictures of yourself,” she said.
