SA ranked 2nd most stressed nation; mental health is a concern
MICHAEL Chatwind was 22 when he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder.
A young police officer just entering the service, the scenes of violence and death he had to attend to affected him so much he began cutting himself to mitigate the emotional pain.
“I am trained as a paramedic, I know where to cut, so I would cut myself and stitch myself. I linked healing from trauma to the healing of a wound. It was also a way of control. I had no control over my emotions at the scenes, and cutting myself was a way to regain that control,” he said.
Fast forward 20 years and Chatwind, now 43, remembers his shame when the disorder started affecting his work.
“I wasn’t going to scenes anymore. I wasn’t concentrating. Then I was referred to a psychiatrist who said it was like living with diabetes – the disor- der didn’t have to rule my life, it could be managed,” he said.
Clinical depression is characterised by a persistent low mood accompanied by low selfesteem and loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities.
According to Marthé Viljoen, programme manager for information and awareness at the SA Federation for Mental Health (Safmh), 17 million South Africans have mental health problems.
“One in three South Africans will experience a mental health problem. However, mental health statistics are critically lacking in SA and there is a lack of routinely collected upto-date data,” she said.
This month is Psychosocial Disability Awareness Month, and this year, Safmh has themed the month: Mental Health in the Workplace: Sup- porting colleagues with mental health problems.
According to Statistics SA, employee absenteeism costs the economy between R12 billion and R16bn a year, a large portion of which can be attributed to workplace stress, burnout and employee ill health.
“Recently, a study by Bloomberg ranked SA the second most stressed nation. A similar study conducted by Ipsos Global and Reuters found that 53 percent of SA’s working population is not taking annual leave, resulting in increased stress and eventual burnout,” Viljoen said.
Dr Dominique Stott, a medical standards executive at Professional Provident Society, said they were seeing increased claims for psychological treatment from professionals.
“The workforce is getting younger and the extended families who have sacrificed to put the young professional through school with the hope that they will provide for the entire family, expect returns on their ‘investment’. It’s a big demand to place on someone in their mid-20s,” she said.
People experiencing mental health problems in the workplace often also face discrimination and abuse, either from their co-workers or from management.
Chatwind, who is on antidepression, anti-anxiety and sleeping tablets, was fortunate. Colleagues at Moffatview police station were aware of his conditio nand never ridiculed him, he said. Instead, he was awarded best policeman while in his ward three years in a row.
Anyone who witnesses a colleague being discriminated against should report it to Mental Health Watch at humanrights@safmh.org or contact 076 078 8722.