Mpho Lekgheto’s brush with suicide changed her life. On the heels of the recent World Suicide Prevention Day, Lekgheto shares her story of hope and how she found the strength to not only cope but to devote her life to mental health.
About 20 percent of South Africans live on less than R350 per month and this kind of poverty could be having real impacts not only on people’s physical health but also their mental well being.
With free treatment widely available, HIV is no longer a death sentence, but for many people newly diagnosed with the virus thoughts of death are still not far off.
A 26-year-old North West man recently killed himself after being diagnosed with HIV, leaving his family and two-year-old child in shock. A local counsellor says the death underscores the need for better counselling.
In the latest installment of her regular mental health blog, Jocelyn Fryer writes about how she lost – and found – her voice after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
With only eight government-run old age homes nationwide, unregulated facilities may be preying on the elderly alongside loan sharks and even pensioners’ own families, according to a new South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) report.
The suicide of an ex-prisoner, who was allegedly stigmatised in his community because of his conviction, has left his mother reeling. A Northern Cape social worker has now called on communities to stop discriminating against those who have served their time for their crimes.
In her latest column on mental health, writer Jocelyn Fryer talks about what bipolar treatment meant for her body and what her new body meant for her.
Exams, pregnancy and a new baby – life for 17-year-old Busi Sibande* had been hectic, which is why her family thought nothing of her strange behavior until the new mum was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
My confession is this: I have bipolar, writes Jocelyn Fryer as she she reflects on being hospitalised with bipolar and how she has learned to adjust to life after her diagnosis.
Prison warders are unable to distinguish between a naturally violent inmate and a mentally ill inmate as they receive no training in identifying mental illness.
People who use high-potency cannabis (“skunk”) every day are five times more likely to have a schizophrenia-like psychotic episode than those who don’t, according to new research.
From absenteeism to “presenteeism,” depression could be costing South African business more than it thinks, according to a study released today.
When the voices stop and their thoughts become their own again, people with schizophrenia may be ready to leave psychiatric facilities - but the next step may be anyone’s guess.
This 62-page documents is the country's first officially endorsed national mental health policy.
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