Mental illness is real

Two weeks ago I was heartbroken when I read an article about a man who killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself in full view of the primary school learners where the woman worked.

In the days leading up to the incident, the man shared on his social media wall about wanting to kill himself, including how he wanted to be buried, and the anger he was battling with.

While a handful of social media friends tried to understand what he was going through, it seemed this only fuelled his anger.

He was angry and didn’t want to listen to reason.

It is alleged by those close to the couple that things spiralled out of control when the man lost his job early this year.

This shows how depressed the guy was and how he believed there was no solution to the problem other than to take his own life and take his wife with him.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to make excuses for the guy.

I know there is no excuse in the world to justify his actions, especially now.

We are celebrating Women’s Month while being bombarded with the growing statistics of femicide and violence against women.

I am trying to get to the point that mental illness is real and the sooner we start talking about it the better.

It pains me that there are still people who are ashamed to speak about it and seek help, or associate it with witchcraft.

Like any other illness, mental illness can be treated.

Can we please stop being macho, stop telling people to snap out of it and be strong, but help them find help.

Remember, when such a problem is not treated, it affects a lot of people.

Now the children of the man who killed his wife and himself are going to grow up without parents.

The primary school learners are left traumatised after seeing their teacher being killed.

Let us take responsibility for our actions and seek help.