Other reasons for the high rates of depression and anxiety include gruelling hours, emotional fatigue, constant exposure to trauma, and a culture that often equates vulnerability with weakness.
South Africa spends only 5% of its health budget on mental health, and most of this is allocated to inpatient psychiatric and not community mental health services.
South Africa’s teachers are increasingly facing chronic stress, anxiety, burnout, and even depression as a result.
Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi criticised both the private security company and police for their handling of the situation.
School social workers are the go-to resource for public schools to refer cases of children struggling with learning, behavioural concerns and other mental health conditions.
High-functioning depression is not a clinical diagnosis and cannot be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) which is a handbook used by health professionals. The term is a colloquial term which has become increasingly popular…
High-functioning depression is a hidden struggle that often goes unnoticed in the lives of many individuals. While the term “high-functioning” may imply that everything is perfectly fine on the surface, beneath the facade of productivity and normalcy lies a complex…
South Africa has limited – almost non-existent – mental health services for Deaf people. Before a Deaf person can access counselling or therapy, a sign language interpreter must be arranged. This introduces an additional barrier to mental healthcare. “Often the…
Sophie* and Malusi* are in two different industries and have different backgrounds. Sophie (27) is in advertising and Malusi (21) is in retail, but the one thing they have in common is the reason they left their jobs. Their mental…
South Africa has been fighting more than just the Covid pandemic for the past few years. The country has been trying to stem a rising tide of mental health issues and substance abuse. New research has found that more than…
Nomsa Tsingowe’s first thought after doctors told her she could have cancer was to end her life. Tsingowe was just 23 years old and had landed a job as a social worker when she found out she had Osteosarcoma, a…
By Hannah Zhihan Jiang Shay Richard, 16, was not expecting much the first time she used Vive Teens, an AI-driven wellness app. Richard was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2019 when she was 13 years old. Today she is…
By Hannah Zhihan Jiang Healthcare workers (HCWs) say targeted programmes to destigmatise mental illnesses and support mental health among HCWs after the COVID-19 pandemic is needed more than ever. They stress the need to debunk the stereotype that HCWs are…
By Hannah Zhihan Jiang Policies without adequate funding will have no impact on improving mental health services in South Africa. Mental health medical practitioners and advocates warn the newly approved National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2023-200 will…
The family of a mental health patient who took his own life at Hayani Psychiatric Hospital in Limpopo said all the 28-year-old wanted was to go home, but his condition prevented that. Fhulufhelo Mulaudzi, 28, from Mdabula village outside…
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