GALLERY: Have the strength to reach out
Resident starts needed support group for sufferers of depression and anxiety.
If you were to Google “What’s depression like?” you’d find a myriad of answers, usually involving the words “drowning”, “black hole” and “the feeling of impending doom”. It’s not like a cold – one cannot simply rattle off a list of symptoms. It’s different for everyone. Anxiety is much the same – frightening and explained in a variety of ways. Without going into the nitty gritty of distinguishing between the two, they are equally distressing.
Local resident Brita Hulley knows this all too well. After finding a support group in Fairland, run by Megan Doherty, she discovered what she describes as “a sense of security and camaraderie” being around people who understood what she was going through and, more importantly, didn’t pass judgment. She continued, “Generally people with depression and anxiety struggle with being understood and feel quite alienated in normal everyday life. I cannot tell you what the group did for me, it really helped me to feel understood. I guess that’s why I wanted to start my own group – to give back and to help in the process of changing the life of someone who is suffering from depression.” And she is doing just that. Having received the necessary support group training through the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) Doherty then assisted her in finding a suitable venue – one that is safe for the members. The group is then run with the aid of Sadag.
Important to note is that the group is for support – opinion and diagnoses are not made. However, in the event that there are problems with medication, for example, a list of qualified psychiatrists and doctors is always available. Also at varying intervals guest speakers from Sadag will do talks and workshops, pertaining to managing depression and anxiety, will be run.
The support group meets on Wednesdays, starting 1 July from 7pm – 9pm at Meeting Room 1, Akeso Crescent Clinic, on the corner of President Fouché Drive and Hawken Avenue, Boskruin, Randburg.
Details: Sadag counsellors between 8am–8pm Monday to Sunday, 011 234 4837 / Fax number: 011 234 8182;
Suicidal Emergency, 0800 567 567; 24hr Helpline, 0800 12 13 14; SMS 31393 (and Sadag will call you back).
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