Crazies raise the awareness of mental illness
The primary objective of this initiative is to elevate awareness of mental illness.
Crazy will become normal for a group raising the awareness of mental illness in September.
The “crazy people” plan to walk from Pretoria to Cape Town as part of the “Crazy for Walking” initiative.
Francois Louw, CEO of sponsor Vista Clinic, said many people thought walking from Pretoria to Cape Town was crazy.
The clinic is one of 30 subsidiary psychiatric hospitals of the National Health Network (NHN) group.
“After all, there are far easier ways of travelling between the two capitals. The primary objective of this initiative is to elevate awareness of mental illness. More importantly though, it aims to de-stigmatise the associations around the word ‘crazy’, often used through ignorance and fear of mental illness,” Louw said.
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The walk will start on 4 September and will end on 10 October to coincide with World Mental Health day.
The group planned to events at which it would talk to residents in the towns as it walked through along the route to educate them about mental illness, with a specific focus on depression, anxiety and mood disorders.
A focal point of this initiative is also to promote mental wellness, and the benefits of exercise as a strategy to combat depression. NHN private hospitals will join the Crazy for Walking initiative.
Louw encouraged all South Africans to do something a little crazy on 10 October to commemorate the day and in solidarity with people suffering from mental illness.
“We are naming the day, National Crazy Socks day. South Africans will be able to purchase Crazy Socks and will be encouraged to wear- and show-off- their craziest socks on the day.”
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Project manager Nicolene Cronje, said the campaign wanted to use a fun and crazy occasion to draw the attention of the public to a serious issue.
“We want people to activate their ‘inner child’ and act ‘crazy’ to demonstrate that suffering from mental illness, does not mean you are crazy. Walking 1500km, is crazy. In addition, we want to encourage people to seek help and where necessary, direct them to the appropriate resources and provide simple guidelines to improve mental wellness.”
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