The LETABA HERALD spoke to Educational Psychologist, Claudie Monyai, from the Phelophepa Health Train, who says that in this month psychologists are trying to remove the stigma attached to mental illnesses.
“We are saying that as an individual you have many things that affect your well-being and these things you are encountering can in the end affect your psychological state and mind state.
“We are also addressing the whole stigma that people with mental disorders only belong at the psychiatric ward and that they have hallucinations or dilusions, where as it is a generic thing.
“We all experience stress and go through challenges, but if that is not managed, can compact itself to a point where your balance in life is no longer there and it can lead to mental disorders,”explained Monyai.
Psychologists encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle, to exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet and to not leave one part of their lives unattended because that can also cause an imbalance in their lives.
The most common mental disorders are stress, depression, anxiety, complicated bereavement, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
People living with bipolar have an irrational kind of behaviour with episodes of depressive lows and manic highs.
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Treatment for bipolar is a combination of psycho-therapy, seeing a psychiatrist and medication.
Monyai says that the black community is still struggling to seek psychological help when compared to the white society.
“Black people usually downplay their conditions, when they have stress they don’t seek medical help they think it is part of life.”
Suicide is one of the biggest challenges in the country and it is mostly associated with depression and anxiety.
According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, there are 23 suicides a day and 230 suicide attempts.
Signs of suicide are; a person always talking about wanting to die or wanting to kill oneself, a sense of hopelessness or no purpose, talking about being a burden to others and having an unbeareble pain.
Family and friends of people who show forth these signs need to report them immediately to psychologists before it is too late.
The HERALD in the past months reported on cases of unexplainable suicides in the form of a hanging in the Mopani area.
Monyai also mentioned that currently psychologists in the country are collaborating with traditional leaders with the aim of trying to understand people in the African terms and not in the western terms only.
For more information about mental illnesses contact the South Afican Depression and Anxiety Group on their website; www.sadag.org or visit your local clinic they will be able to refer you to the relevant people.
