“Among the common major mental health issues and changes that have seen in South Africa over the last few years, are depression and schizophrenia. The increase that we’ve seen in recent years was probably aggravated by the social isolation brought about by the lockdowns of 2020.” So says Moustafa Kamel, the Medical Affairs Director of Janssen South Africa.
He goes on to stress the importance of ongoing mental health awareness: “This helps the patients, but we should also not forget the caregivers, who have the responsibility, and therefore the attendant stresses, of the treatment process.”
Fortunately, Kamel notes, we’ve seen advances in the methodology of diagnosis, and this has gone hand-in-hand with an increase in the availability of mental health services.
“We mustn’t forget,” says Kamel, “that mental health is a disease. Commonly the perception is that it’s environmental factors which activate the disease, and, while that may sometimes be the case, it’s a lot more complex than that.”
There is, he points out, a constant interplay between our physical and external conditions and our minds. “Eating healthy food and exercising is as important as constantly attending to our mental state. These physical and mental components feed off one another, so a disturbance in the one area can set off a growing cycle. Maintaining a balance is therefore crucial to our overall well-being.”
Obviously, the more extreme the symptoms of a condition are, the easier it is for medical practitioners to recognise and diagnose. Earlier, less severe conditions, may simply be interpreted by the patient’s cohabitants as moodiness.
Depression, for example, is a progressive disease. Patients may confine themselves to their rooms, not engage with others, and occupy themselves with pessimistic thoughts. If not treated, however, depression could progress to a severe stage, in which patients completely isolate themselves, and ultimately engage in suicidal ideation.
Kamel offers the comforting information that counselling can take place both in psychological as well as psychiatric realms. These options will see to both the mental and medical needs of the patient. “If counselling achieves the desired ends,” he says, “then treatment starts and ends there, but if the condition has a medical component, it’s important to know that established pharmaceutical options exist.”
But intervention is frequently necessary. When people are in a depressed state, they feel helpless, and often won’t consider the option of reaching out to others.
“Awareness is the key, here,” Kamel concludes. “We should constantly attend to our physical and mental well-being, and also be cognisant of the condition of those around us.”
Should you require counselling support, reach out to SADAG (https://www.sadag.org/) on the 24-hour helpline (0800 456 789) or SMS 31393.