On Saturday, August 1, Life Glynnview Hospital organised a day to inform the public of the mental illnesses with which it deals.
Some of the attendees were asked why they were there and said they were suffering from some of the conditions mentioned and were glad such an informative event was organised.
Several speakers attended, including Anneline Reetley, Debbie Beech and Neil Amoore, touching on depression, Alzheimer’s disease and substance addiction, respectively.
Depression:
- Causes vary between genetics, negative life circumstances and chemical imbalance.
- Symptoms include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness; loss of interest in activities that were once pleasurable, sleeping too much or not enough, suicide attempts and more.
- Treatment consists of medication in conjunction with psychotherapy.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about depression out there, many think sufferers should just pull themselves together,” said Reetley.
“Families who don’t understand will discourage patients from taking medication; it helps a lot when the family understands.”
Alzheimer’s disease:
- Genetics and stress are two major factors in the causes of this form of dementia.
- Symptoms include short term memory loss, a decreased ability to communicate with others and confusion regarding the recognition and function of everyday objects, among others.
- There is no cure for Alzheimer’s at the moment, only the symptoms can be treated in order to delay the degeneration.
“There is a distinction between normal aging and Alzheimer’s,” said Beech.
“It is the most common form of dementia, with over 2.2 million patients in South Africa, according to the 2011 census.”
Addiction:
- Addiction can be caused by life circumstances or genetic, neurobiological or socio-cultural factors.
- Signs of addiction include behavioural issues, secrecy, unexplained weight-loss and missing valuables or money at home.
- Addiction is treated by means of a sequential plan of action, which often includes therapy and going through a process of rehabilitation.
“I see addiction as a disease; and it’s one that’s becoming a big problem in South Africa,” said Amoore.
“South Africa is one of the largest importers of several hard drugs.”
Letitia du Bois, unit manager at Glynnview, said they try to make the environment of the patients as normal as possible, compared to their home life, with a two-week programme during which patients meet in groups and see psychologists individually.
