Mental Health - Here's Where To Get Help

All of us, as in each one of use has felt the impact of Covid-19 one way or the other, not only in our pockets but some have taken a real knock on their mental health and I’m not talking about the frontline workers here. Some people were impacted immediately when the president announced the lockdown, most were like “Oh s**t, what’s going to happen to my job”, others felt the impact 3 months later, others are yet to feel the impact. Lucky you if you still had your s**t together throughout this pandemic.

People react differently to mental health issues and its impact. Some people are more vulnerable/receptive than others and others are easily susceptible to stress. And unfortunately for some, it is hereditary. Mental issues can never be addressed with a “One blanket fits all” approach. And in this case when I talk mental health matters I mean when the things in your day to day life get too much for you to deal with and you don’t know who to vent to because you don’t want to “offload” your issues to the next person who is going through their own issues.

I intended to share this post with you in October since October is Mental Health Awareness month, but hey mental issues are experienced all year, all season. And as always I scout around and share with you information that you were not aware of and hopefully after reading this you are more educated than you were before. If I die tomorrow and I’m asked at the gates of Heaven how did I change the world? I’ll say “One post at a time” and I got receipts lol.

These are just some outlets where you can call or send a text or go in person to the nearest offices and they will be able to assist you at no charge.

SADAG – South African Depression And Anxiety Group, which focuses on mental health support. SADAG has partnerships with other various stakeholders including having a varsity helpline to assist you with navigating through stressful times in your life and/or career and equip you with the tools to deal with depression and anxiety. This organization does have a list of comprehensive resources for individuals, kids and families that might need assistance, very dope.

LifeLine – It assist people with counselling, any form of counselling. I’m very familiar with lifeline as one of my friends works for this organizations and it has partnered with some of the police stations in the country. They also offer counselling telephonically. The have branches in and around Johannesburg. The other thing I noticed is that they also have a volunteering program, which is good for people that were once victims or have underwent some sort of abuse they can then pay it forward and sign up for the volunteering program and assist others who may be going through similar experiences. This organization also has a Whatsapp group making them easily accessible.

Lovelife – Love life started off as a Non-profit organization that focused primarily on educating and create awareness around youth and HIV and AIDS. Now the organization has taken a holistic education and assistance to the youth. But remember, constitutionally you are youth up until the age of 35 years.

ICAS – This organization, unlike the others has formed partnerships with different sectors across the organization. It has formed partnerships with the finance, telecommunication, health sector and various other sectors. Their aim is to assist employees with psychological issues in order for the employees to be more productive (rolls my eyes). They give psychological assistance, emotional, legal assistance and other forms of assistance that employees may need.

As I was reading about these organizations and spoke to some ladies that worked in these organizations, I came to see that they are somehow inter-linked. The cases they deal with a similar and depending on your area, you can visit either one these organizations. With ICAS it a free service provided for by some companies – check with your employer or you perhaps send an email or talk to HR if you are not sure how to get hold of them.

Furthermore, what I liked about the NGO’s excluding ICAS is that that have a volunteering programs. Therefore, if you are one for giving back or if you’ve gone through some mental health issues e.g. abuse, school/varsity trauma, family conflicts and you were able to deal with those. You can sign up to be a volunteer on some of their programs and give back at a time that’s convenient to you.

P.S you are never alone…💛😉