SHOOT: When I hear about some of the dilemmas we are faced with (climate change, energy, food and water challenges) I am not so confident about overcoming them when I remember to what extent large porportions of the world's population are effectively dysfunctional (in other words, unable to operate or function effectively). The remainder are so locked into additions and indulgences, they are effectively divorced from any cogent sense of reality. As such it is very worrying to note how all the dire signals we are receiving effectively are like the sweet nothings uttered by drunks to one another. Almost nothing registers consciously and very little residue remains the next morning to actually act upon.
A total of 16.5 percent of South Africans suffer from common mental disorders like depression and anxiety, the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) said on Monday. "Even more concerning perhaps is that 17 percent of children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders," the organisation said in a statement.
"One in three women in these areas suffer from postnatal depression."
This was three times higher than the prevalence in developed countries.
Johannesburg-based psychiatrist Dr Thabo Rangaka, said diagnosis, treatment and support for people with a mental illness were already difficult to obtain in urban areas.
"We need to challenge the old stereotypes about mental health, stereotypes that say that people with psychosis are bewitched or possessed by demons; that people who are depressed are lazy," Lund said. - Sapa
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