Life with two mental disorders
A 60 year-old Johannesburg woman gives us a glimpse of what it'€™s like to live with two stigmatising mental disorders.
Mental Health
Read More » Life with two mental disorders
Alzheimer’€™s disease: Virginia’€™s story
Phakamile Magamdela recently visited Virginia O'€™Grady, a widowed 82 year-old who now lives at a retirement village in Johannesburg under the careful supervision of care-givers. Virginia has Alzheimer'€™s disease.
Living with an attention deficit disorder
A 25 year-old Johannesburg man shares his story of growing up with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and how he overcame the challenges associated with the condition, turning his life into a success story.
Therapy difficult in ‘€˜fragmented reality’ of xenophobia victims
Our experience of working with the victims of xenophobia, displaced from their homes and staying in refugee camps and a church hall, was that it was an unpredictable, messy, uncoordinated and fragmented reality, with no place and no space for employing well-intended treatments and therapies. In these situations of ongoing, cumulative, and present trauma, what we could offer was the continuity of our mindful presence.
So write seven Cape Town psychotherapists in a recent paper.
Tracking the MDGs
While South Africa has made some progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), mental health and poverty remain major challenges, according to public hearings on the MDGs hosted by the SA Human Rights Commission.
‘€˜Mental health is an overlooked priority’€™, commission told
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has heard that mental health is an overlooked priority. This was said at the Commission'€™s recent public hearings focusing on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the realisation of economic and social rights in South Africa.
Unveiling one of the many faces of the mysterious Autism
Mental conditions and illnesses manifest themselves in different and complicated ways. One of them is the mysterious Autism, a developmental disorder that strikes from a young age.
The link between HIV and Depression
When HIV enters the body, it predisposes the person to several mental illnesses, one of which is Depression. This report explores the link between HIV and depression.
Hogan’€™s advisory committee faces serious challenges
Health Minister Barbara Hogan recently established an Interim Advisory Committee, to help the Health Department in improving quality of care, to guarantee patient safety and to strengthen infection control measures in the public health care system.
How the Free State ARV moratorium breached the Constitution
The government has violated the Constitution by imposing a moratorium on the roll-out of antiretroviral drugs, for new HIV/AIDS patients in the Free State, the AIDS Law Project recently told a civil society gathering in Bloemfontein.
Suicide prevention through Mental Health First Aid
First Aid is a very well known and important procedure in society. But, Mental Health First Aid is something new in this country. It was imported from Australia where it was developed. South African experts identified the need for this program as a result of rising numbers of cases of patients with mental illnesses.
Mental illnesses ignored
The primary health care system is failing South African communities in desperate need of mental health services for common conditions such as anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress and school-related problems.
Rehabilitating through art
Being in prison can result in depression and other mental conditions. At Westville Prison in Durban, a support group of prisoners is using the art of drawing and painting to help them deal with their incarceration and to transform themselves. With the help of LifeLine Durban, the inmates now have their work showing at Constitution Hill, in Johannesburg.
Living and dying in SA
The health indicators, which provide a snapshot of our nation'€™s health, still paint a picture of a violent, racially divided country where women bear the brunt of disease.
South Africans suffer high rate of substance-linked mental disorders
South Africa has a serious problem with mental disorders linked to substance abuse, according to the first stress and health study released yesterday (Wednesday).