Download PDFThe focus of this article is on one of the underlying issues that many people face, go through, without communicating them, that is, mental health issues.
The scope of mental health covers our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, or even act, according to one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And according to the WHO, it is the state of mental well-being and relates to the way we handle stress.
Mental health influences our daily lives. During interviews, we wanted to understand if people “mental health as mostly a white people problem” We got a chance to interview a 32-year-old male, Mr Mshengu and 42-year-old woman, Isabel Hensburg, from just around Phola Park.
Mrs Hensburg said, “No white people just attend to the problem quicker than the other people because the other people’s culture does not believe in psychology.”
Mshengu observed that , “If mental health is not addressed it can have a negative impact on the society,” Highlighting the seriousness of the challenge in society. Our communities and societies are deeply affected by this matter but because we don’t believe in psychology, we just shy the matter away.
Both community members agreed that mental health could come from isolation, disability, unemployment, substance abuse, and may lead to unemployment, seclusion, homelessness, suicide, and inappropriate actions.
There are ways to protect one’s mental health For one, we should normalise talking about it, giving help where we can and offering our services to those that need them.
This article was submitted on 19 September 2024. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
