DIBA Schools Women On How To Deal With Grief, Trauma

Coach Stella Eyabi championing Grief and Trauma training

Healing from the pains of the past is a process that entails tack and follow-up, especially within the context of the ongoing crisis rocking the Southwest and Northwest Region says Stella Eyabi, Executive Director and Lead Therapist at Diversity is Beauty Africa (DIBA) Cameroon.

It is against this backdrop that a group of women recently gathered under the canopy of DIBA to talk Mental Health and Wellbeing with theme “Dealing with Grief and Trauma, there is hope and Healing”.

The closed gathering is intended to help people truly find their Voice and embrace themselves as well as move them to identify, heal and thrive in their true genuine self, using mental health therapy and Psycho-spiritual Counselling as a whole.

She engages in helping people bring hope and cope with the loss of someone alongside dealing appropriately with their past trauma as it can cause them to heal beyond the grief they have experienced.

It is incumbent, she adds for people not to give unsolicited advice such as time will heal your wounds or my case was worse than yours, when it comes to grief as it can further help to reminiscence the pain. Rather gift them the gift of your presence, she hammers.

Dwelling on mindfulness and self-awareness, the Exec. Dir. of DIBA cautioned the Christian women to be aware of their thoughts, emotions and feelings towards certain situations. In the engaging package were two mental health games encompassing the candy compliment question and answer session and toss me some kindness.

Given that grief has a process, some work sheets, activities and exercises during the training proper geared at helping these women describe how they feel from the grief of a broken relationship, the loss of a pet, the break of trust in a marriage or much more.

Group Photographs with Participants

“Expressing ones thoughts and feelings in a healthy way gives us all hope and participates in our healing process in that people get to share more when they feel in tune with themselves”, she said. That’s why she further challenged the women to learn empathy and actively help people in that same situation given that they have learned to help themselves.

The Senior Pastor of Voice of Power Ministry Kombo village Mile 16 Prophet Eyabi Bercley on his part is convinced the retreat was a positive one as he has discovered a lot about himself which he didn’t know prior to the come together.

There are things according to him he has vowed to set right in his life to move forward. He says, “l go back with a solution and also pledge to be the solution in the lives of those going through Grief and Trauma so that together, we may encounter healing”.

Ella Eduke, a trainer, Mental Health Therapist and Founder of the Ella Eduke Fondation for Mental Health an NGO in Buea capitalised her training on, helping the women speak out words of kindness to one another from a comfortable position and with gladness in their hearts.

She intimates “as we go about our daily activities we need to be self-aware of the things we say to people reason why using words like please, I love you, you are beautiful, thank you, forgive me, you are intelligent, go a long way in uplifting and elevating someone’s mood”.

As DIBA 2.0 ends it should be recalled DIBA 1.0 which held in August this year was focused on helping people deal with anxiety and worry.  This can only be realised by finding bliss from within and to Eyabi Stella, it is fulfilment for her.

DIBA also organises free mental health outreach programmes like the just ended one in May of this year thanks to the help of sponsors. They stop at nothing to see that mental health awareness spread across the community so that people can heal from within.

By Honorine Cheng, Data Journalist/Content Creator