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Mental health is one of the most neglected forms of the disease despite the fact that it accounts for most of the suicides in young people.
According to the group of South African depression and anxiety (Sadag), 9% of deaths
In the age group of 15 to 24 years, suicide is the second leading cause of death "Fastest growing"
"Children as young as seven years of age committed suicide in South Africa. Every day, 22 people take their lives, "says Sadag.
According to the World Health Organization, 800,000 young people commit suicide around the world each year. These statistics are confirmed by the high rate of admission of young people to psychiatric institutions. Statistics show that young people are the most vulnerable and face many problems.
Recent student deaths in the country's universities have prompted the South African Students Union (Saus) and Grades and Levels SA to tackle the scourge. They have recently launched a 24-hour call center for mental health students. Saus President Misheck Mugabe said the initiative was being implemented by students on a daily basis.
"Students at our universities face many challenges such as financial exclusion, school exclusion, victimization, murder and abuse that seriously affect their day-to-day mental health. Undesirable realities, Saus has partnered with Grades and Levels SA to ensure the success of a mental health and wellness initiative that provides free medical support to students 24 hours a day, "he said. said. This initiative comes after many incidents have been reported in universities and that the implementation of psychological interventions has been insufficient to address some of the problems faced by students.
"The number of students increases students commit suicide, students are murdered on and off campus and often in front of their peers, leading to trauma without psychological intervention or post-traumatic counseling," he said. said.
Clinical Psychologist Mthetho Tshemese, who will lead As part of the project, this urgent intervention was needed to address issues related to mental illness.
He said that mental health is often perceived Things are not going well and only intervention measures are put in place.
"When it comes to health globally, mental health is really a neglected sibling in the health field. We have never had a situation where we integrate mental health as an integral part of overall health. Often we think about mental health over mental illness. We do not think about what it means to have mental health, we think the person is crazy. It is accompanied by stigma.
Tshemese said that one thing that attracted him in his adherence to the project was the need to make sure that students are an integral part of it.
When students enroll at the university, a word in terms of student support services offered or not offered.
"Another thing that fascinated me was that the matrix results, the learners are going to have so much pressure to perform and then go to university." The bulk of tertiary students are beneficiaries of NSFAS By definition, this means that you come from a difficult background.
"What we do not talk about is that if you come from a socially disadvantaged background, you are predisposed. to a number of challenges in your family and your expectations.This is supposed to be an exciting time for you as a student is actually under a lot of pressure. "
Tshemese gave an example of the difficulty of having to adapt to the tertiary life from a socially disadvantaged environment.He had a friend who did not know what the corn flakes were, it was only exposed to them when he went to the University
"He thought that they were were french fries. We went to the dining room and he was eating his corn flakes as it was crisps and washes them with orange juice. I'm just talking about diet as an adjustment because you come from home and eat the food you eat and you are in this institution and you have to adapt to the kitchen. Often, we simply badume that students need to know how to handle them. "
Tshemese said that it was alarming to see students commit suicide or kill others.
" We also saw how vulnerable women were in higher education institutions . There have been cases of rape, people who are marginalized because of their badual orientation and what that makes them feel.
"Being a student is an exciting thing. However, these learning institutions are also places where violence reigns. There is a student who was killed at KZN by his boyfriend. All of these things speak of the need to say whatever challenges they face.
The project will be rolled out across the country. More than 800 people will handle telephone lines and work closely with psychologists.
The Sunday Independent Function
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