Social workers came together to educate the public about mental health

Kwa-Thema – “Man is dying inside because they were taught that men don’t cry and yet they go through so much,” said social worker Annie Maboea during the mental health awareness campaign aimed at encouraging men and young people to speak out and ask for help.
The event organised by Maboea at the Faith Christian Center on Saturday tackled mental issues amongst men, youth, women and mental health in Christ.
For the campaign she collaborated with the Central Gauteng Mental Health Society, Kids Haven and Faith Christian Centre.
Maboea said people tend to focus on their physical well-being but never take the time to think about the state of their minds.

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“We easily get so preoccupied with life and daily survival that we forget that a healthy mental state determines how we handle stress, relate to others and help with making healthy choices. At the end of the day, we feel overwhelmed and once you are overwhelmed you become scared to even tell people that you are not ok.
“We want to urge people to look after their mental health.
“There is help out there and you are never alone,” explained Maboea.
She added that self-care is vital because mental health affects how people think, feel and act.
Talking about mental health and men was psychologist Paul Ngandu, “Men find it difficult to talk about mental health, and I think an opportunity like this is very good for us to address it.
“It is something that we need to make it a public conversation and create awareness.
“Break the cultural stigma that men don’t cry. Manning-up is not the answer!” he said.

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Social worker Don Masilo Mofokeng said suicide rates among young people is alarming.
“Peer pressure remains one of the biggest challenges because we want to belong and also young people are not happy about themselves.
“As a result, they engage in risky behaviour.
“Also the lack of capacity to process things and handle change because they are still developing become a challenge,” added Mofokeng.
Ngandu emphasised that seeking help is important.
“We need to acknowledge that we are all affected in some way, and the only way to deal with or process things is to talk about it.
“We all have a past, present and the future, it is difficult to move forward if they haven’t dealt with their past.
“Therapy or counselling comes in handy for you to move forward confidently,” he stated.

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