New psychiatry podcast brings the world of psychiatry to residents’ homes
PARKTOWN – Professor Christopher Szabo, Parktown resident, has launched a new podcast, Beyond Madness, which brings the exciting world of psychiatry into the community.
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A new podcast, Beyond Madness, initiated by Parktown-based psychiatrist Professor Christopher Szabo, founder and editor in chief of South African Psychiatry, brings the exciting, vast field of psychiatry to the community.
“Covid-19 has created an awareness of the importance of managing one’s mental health. We have all experienced the stressors together, feeling threatened, insecure, and out of control; and the importance of mental health has come into focus,” Szabo told the Gazette.
The podcast debuted on Cliff Central last week with the first podcast focusing on psychiatry in a cross-cultural setting.
Szabo said through Beyond Madness, he wanted to explore the depths of psychiatry with listeners and professionals, hence the word ‘beyond’ in the name of the podcast.
He shared a statement issued by the World Health Organisation: ‘There is no health without mental health’.
“As a society, we are conscious of how we need healthy minds to move forward from present challenges, he continued. “
The pandemic has made us realise that mental health can be managed. We have become conscious of our thoughts and had to learn techniques and strategies to function optimally, mentally and emotionally, so that we can navigate our way through these times of extreme stress.”
The talented psychiatrist, whose work in psychiatry has seen him work with hospitalised psychiatrically-ill adolescents and eating disorder sufferers at Tara Hospital, among other endeavours, said his decision to be a psychiatrist was a natural decision for him as he had always been interested in how people thought and experienced the world.
He said mental illness had also always intrigued him, as has our capacity to recover and heal, and make different choices to see new outcomes.
He explained the podcast highlighted practical aspects of psychiatry. He also intends to ‘demystify’ psychiatry through the podcast, and destigmatise misconceptions others might have about the profession. “It’s also about providing insight to third parties like friends and family who are impacted in some way or another by psychiatric challenges faced by a loved one.”
To listen to the first podcast, and upcoming podcasts, visit https://cliffcentral.com/podcasts/beyond-madness/
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