The mental state of young people in SA is a national state of disaster, and nobody is doing anything about it.
From May 10-16, SA will be observing Mental Health Awareness Week. Sadly, in our country, we don’t do anything impactful about this observance unless something tragic occurs or affects a well-known person, like a death by suicide, which will lead to endless tweets about the tragedy and then it all dies down.
The next time we hear a speech or see a headline that seeks to educate us or make us aware of mental issues will be when a well-known person has a mental breakdown, and they go public about it. Otherwise, the silent killers related to our minds or emotional well-being continue to rampage our society.
We write long, deep and moving messages on social media platforms and life goes on. The most famous one is, “Gone too soon.” This approach is worrisome and is not yielding any good results.
Moreover, it is taking young people who are the future of this country. If we cannot create opportunities or build an environment that inspires them to remain hopeful in the face of daily despair, at least let us ensure that we equip them with the knowledge.
This coming Saturday, the community of Mmametlhake, in Mpumalanga, will be burying a young girl who allegedly died from suicide. Yet again, we have lost a young life that had the potential to become anything. The 19-year-old matriculated in 2020.
The whole community is distraught. I can bet now that there won’t be anyone hit so strongly about this to initiate something sustainable for the community.
There are no headlines about this tragic occurrence. There is nobody who is going to start a serious motivational thread about us checking on our friends and relatives. There is not going to be a blue light brigade driving through the dusty streets of the village. Do you know why? She was not a celebrity nor related to one.
When it comes to such matters, our efforts, and actions towards such a crisis depend on who is affected. It is a terrible approach we have in life that has become a norm. All lives matter, including the lives of villagers.
Perhaps what we need now more than ever is deliberate leadership from all the concerned government departments to join efforts to aid society. With joint efforts, we could see a positive change in our communities. There are real issues that people of all ages are facing.
Young people are facing dire circumstances. Many come from impoverished families, their marks are poor, and they probably don’t even know about NSFAS. Others are graduates frustrated by being at home and having no job opportunities, while some of their peers seem to be progressing in life. Other adults are dealing with job losses, the cost of living is too high, and their families depend on them.
Most of them are black. Furthermore, they live in communities that still stigmatise mental health issues. They embrace the saying, “black don’t crack”, while they are dying inside. Hence, we have a great need to educate people about mental awareness.
As a young person I grew up in a village that associated depression with psychotic symptoms. In fact, others would go as far as saying, “Depression ke bolwetsi ba makgowa. O no tepa fela.” Loosely translated, it means, “depression is an ailment for white people. You are simply nagging or sulking.”
Four years ago, I was diagnosed with a severe depressive episode, without psychotic symptoms, caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
I believe this was the result of the two accidents I’d been involved in. I was very hesitant about telling my family and friends, fearing they would move away from me. Eventually, I had to inform them, so I know where we stand and if I could count on their support during my journey to recovery and healing. Indeed, we don’t have to suffer in silence.
In conclusion, Demetria Devonne Lovato an American singer, songwriter, and actor put it well when she said, “The advice I’d give to somebody that’s silently struggling is: You don’t have to live that way. You don’t have to struggle in silence. You can be un-silent. You can live well with a mental health condition, as long as you open up to somebody about it, because it’s really important you share your experience with people so that you can get the help that you need."
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