- Ndo Mdlalose
emaSwati to live that is foreign.
“Sadly, as the saying goes that when two bulls fight, the grass is more affected.
“We have been reading of brutal behaviour that seems to be getting worse by the day.
“The COVID-19 pandemic played a huge role in triggering such brutality.
“The lockdown, for instance, forced us to live a life that was foreign to us.
“It escalated to not only the loss of our loved ones; but to making life unbearable.
“So many people got frustrated and angry,” Mdlalose clarified.
Worth noting is that October is World Mental Health Month with the theme ‘Make Mental Health a Global Priority’.
According to Mdlalose, this is indicative that mental health is not only a challenge in Eswatini only; but the entire world.
“There is hopelessness, helplessness and driven to poverty financially, socially, emotionally and academically, to name a few.
Affected
alife
“Judging from the news on social media, local broadcasts and publications; most of the affected directly and indirectly resorted to a different way of expressing themselves,” Mdlalose pointed out.
Thereafter, she mentioned that post trauma stress disorder, depression, anxiety, paranoid personality disorders, schizophrenia and sadistic disorders were inevitable.
“Going back to the recent arson attacks; it is so sad to actually helplessly watch your house, car, and so many things being burnt down in front of you.
“There is no doubt that will pose a detrimental effect on your mental and psychological well-being.
“Some will sink into severe depression, where so many have resorted to end their precious lives out of frustration,” Mdlalose explained.
Revenge
The clinical psychologist stated that others resort to revenge, making the situation even worse.
Everyone is not alright, even if some are not directly affected; but merely reading about it can be a trigger to past traumatic experiences.
Eswatini is going through a period of political turmoil that began last year June/July, where pro-democratic calls escalated calling for the election of the prime minister instead of having an appointed one.
As a result of that, after government banned the delivery of petitions, arson attacks, lootings took centre stage which saw a lot of business supermarkets and shops, including tinkhundla centres, being torched by unknown people.
consequences
Worth noting is that without treatment, the consequences of mental illness for the individual and society are staggering.
Untreated mental health conditions can result in unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and poor quality of life.
Alleged killings of civilians and security personnel has been the order of the day in the society and because of all this developments, the clinical psychologist has called on government to treat the matter of mental health as a matter of urgency.
Many people ignore their symptoms as they are afraid to be stigmatised. Nearly 60 per cent of people with mental illnesses did not seek treatment last year.