Mental health awareness campaign held in Toekies

The West Rand District Health Services tackled issues around mental health illness and addressed some of the causes behind it even – how to get help.

This was during an awareness campaign held at the PJ Maree Clinic in Toekomsrus on Friday October 21 which attracted scores of people from the community and its surrounding areas. Top of the agenda was to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month which is celebrated in October and challenge the stigma associated with people suffering from mental health illnesses and debunking some of the myths.

The event was also aimed at empowering the community with information about the management of mental health ailments and ways to support friends and relatives suffering from mental health illnesses.

The Herald conducted a one-on-one interview with Dr Nokuthula Mdaka, who is the Head of unit for the West Rand District’s specialist mental health team, who said commemorations around this month are more focused on the prevention of mental health illnesses.

“Commemorations around this month mainly focuses on the awareness and the prevention of mental health illness in those who are deemed to be mentally healthy at the moment. What we have been doing during this time is addressing mental health illness and presenting ways of prevention overall. The month of July, however, focuses on those who already have mental health illnesses and during that time, we mainly focus on the prevention of disabilities arising from mental health issues,” said Mdaka.

Unpacking some of the contributing factors in mental health illness, Mdaka said that factors that lead to mental health are multi-factorial.

“We basically use a model called the bio psycho-social model which means that we look at biology and that includes genetics. If someone in your family or a relative has been diagnosed with a mental illness before, then chances of you developing a mental illness later on in life are high, particularly when faced with stresses or triggers. This increases the chance of developing a mental illness and that’s basically the population that we try to focus on in terms of prevention,” said Mdaka.

She added that they are tackling the issue holistically and also looking at the psycho-social element as the contributing factors to mental health illnesses.

These include one’s background, education level, poverty, the school, work and home environment in which they work in among others.

Meanwhile, other stakeholders were present at the event and stationed at their respective gazebo’s giving out information with regards to mental health illnesses and the services they provide.

Speaking of the resources available in the district which can assist in dealing with mental health issues, Mdaka said the Department of Health has various structures in place aimed at managing and assisting those who are suffering from mental health problems.

These include the primary health care facilities such as clinics in the different communities which manage basic and common mental health problems and secondary mental health clinics which manage severe mental illnesses.

There’s also in-hospital care offered at the different hospitals within the West Rand District such as Dr Yusuf Dadoo Hospital, Carletonville Hospital, Leratong Hospital and Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital. These are in addition to the services provided by social workers, clinical psychologist, psychiatrists and occupational therapists at different facilities.