Former Miss SA 2020 Shudufhadzo Musida continues to advocate for mental health by educating the public about the seriousness of depression and mental illness.
The beauty queen’s basic aim is to shed light on perspectives about mental health while eliminating the stigma surrounding it giving people a platform to communicate.
Musida touched on depression which serves as one of the most pervasive mental illnesses that South Africans are dealing with.
The Star was part of a webinar where Shudu along with her guest’s psychiatrist, Dr Lerato Dikobe Kalane, Operations Director at South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag), Cassey Chambers, and depression patient on treatment Dineo Mogale to unpack essential ways to deal with depression.
Dr Kalane, a psychiatrist kicked off the meeting by revealing that depression can also affect young children but was most common among youth from18 years.
“The commonest age of presenting with your first episode of depression is between 18 and 25. But children younger can present with depression. Children can be depressed. Children who are victims of bullying at school. Children who are victims of circumstances at home.“
She elaborated that children do not yet have a full vocabulary, making it harder for them to just open up and talk about how they feel. It is often seen in behavioural changes.
Dr Dikobe also highlighted that depression is not determined by ethnicity, race or economic circumstances - anyone can have depression.
Musida echoed the sentiments shared about the stigma t around depression depression.
“As long as you are a human being. It does not matter the age or the ethnicity. I think that is the biggest thing that we need to put across that it does not discriminate.”
Chambers added that in SA, women count as the most affected by depression but that does not exclude men, it is just that they do not talk about it.
Mogale who has struggled with depression spoke about her own experience.
“My experience with depression was a very tough one, I struggled to concentrate at work even doing simple tasks felt like a huge task. I struggle with even having meaningful conversations.”
All participants said it was vital to show support to loved ones suffering from depression so that they do not have to deal with it on their own and all alone.