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15 October 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Valentino Ndaba
Mental health awareness
The UFS joined the global community in commemorating World Mental Health Day.
“This is not a conversation that should wait until people have taken their own lives or have been diagnosed,” said Tshepang Mahlatsi, Founder of Next Chapter, a student organisation that advocates for mental health. In commemoration of World Mental Health Day, the organisation hosted a dialogue around this year’s theme of Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention on 10 October 2019.

Mahlatsi further said: “The conversation around mental health is not one that should be reserved for September or October when we commemorate suicide prevention and World Mental Health Day. We should build a culture and tradition of having and normalising these conversations. This notion becomes highly relevant at institutions of higher learning where most students are affected by various factors, such as finances and academic anxiety.”

Dealing with the dilemma

This open discussion took place on the Bloemfontein Campus between students and a panel comprising Dr Ntswaki Setlaba and Dr Melissa Barnaschone.

Dr Setlaba, a consultant psychiatrist at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital, said one of the symptoms of major depressive disorder is suicide. She highly recommends that early detection of depression is essential in order to prevent it escalating to a loss of more lives.

Director of the Office for Student Counselling and Development, Dr Barnaschone, supported the concept of early detection, citing that there are plans put in place to support students, such as workshops and the Student Mental Health Toolkit.

Medicine of the mind

Dr Fanie Meyer, a private psychiatrist based in Bloemfontein, described to staff members the effects of depression and anxiety on the brain. He presented a talk titled: Pain vs Depression: ‘The chicken or the egg?’ which was hosted by the Organisational Development and Employee Wellness division in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences.

He also stressed the importance of early detection. “If you leave your pain running for 10 years, it will get worse. The same goes for anxiety,” said Dr Meyer. 

According to Burneline Kaars, Head of the Division, they are committed to changing attitudes about mental health and reducing the stigma experienced by those who live with it. “The focus is on educating staff about mental illness and empowering them to take action and promote mental wellbeing while it is still early.”  

Recognising the early symptoms of a mental disorder is an essential part of tackling the pandemic. Having the mental health conversation throughout the year instead of in September and October ought to further this agenda. 

News Archive

South Africa praised for dealing with its history
2012-07-12

“I listened to an incredible conversation on how South Africans can talk about the past. We failed to do that in the US. We cannot move on because we failed to name the ghosts in our past. I am honouring what South Africa is doing.”

These are the words of a staff delegate from a university in the USA in a case study at the Global Leadership Summit led by Prof. André Keet, Director of the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Students and academics from universities in the USA, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan are attending a Global Leadership Summit with the theme “Transcending Boundaries in Global Change Leadership” at the UFS.

In the case study, symbols on the Bloemfontein Campus such as the MT Steyn Statue, Justitia symbol of justice at the building of the Faculty of Law, the artwork Van hier tot daar, and the Women’s Memorial were presented to the audience and the question was asked if they had to be removed or if they had to remain.

Students overwhelmingly felt that symbols of the past had to remain. Here are some of the comments:

  • “Without our past we would not be here today. Without the past, we would not know why we are here or where we are going.”
  • “It is important for students that it remains on campus, as a reminder that history must not repeat itself.”
  • “There is room for new symbols. We must look back but must also look at the future.”
  • “We must resolve the problems of the past and move on.”
  • “We must remember that we cannot go back there again. We must not take away part of other people’s history.”
  • “Symbols must be contextualised.”
  •  “Don’t look in the rear mirror, but through the windscreen where you are going. The windscreen is far bigger.”

One student said the statute of MT Steyn filled him with anger.

Prof. Keet said the act of running away from the ghosts of the past was a way to keep those ghosts alive. The past cannot be dealt with, only visited. The ghosts connect people with the past and allow the past to be present in the now.
 

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