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20 October 2020 | Story Mienke van Zyl | Photo Supplied
Mienke van Zyl believes that even in darkness there is light, and nobody can take that light away from you.
I struggled with depression and anxiety. I felt hopeless, unworthy of love, worthless, numb, and like a complete disappointment to myself and others. In my case, the medications prescribed to me by a psychiatrist worked against each other and made me completely lose control over my thought processes (I had to take 11 pills a day to ‘survive’). 

My suicidal thoughts and the need for self-harm increased by the day. I took nearly 50 pills to end my life, and by the time I was brought to the hospital, they could not do much for me. I was lucky enough to have survived. On getting a second chance after my last suicide attempt, I struggled to find my identity. Feeling numb for such a long time, I struggled to identify what and how I was feeling and why.

Overcoming

I went to therapy and had an amazing psychologist who gave me tools to work through my trauma; this helped me realise that I am worthy of living a full life. I attended a self-esteem programme compiled by UFS Student Counselling and Development (SCD) to improve my low self-esteem. 

After feeling numb for such a long time and not knowing what emotions were anymore, I had to learn to sit with my emotions and identify what I was feeling ( happy, angry, sad, etc.) and what caused me to feel this way. 

Being saved by God's amazing grace after my last suicide attempt, it was a battle to recover completely, but I no longer felt anxious, depressed, or suicidal. I was finally ready to start fighting for my well-being. Finding my identity took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I have lost so much of myself during my dark times that I completely forgot who I was.  I reminded myself that I have life and that I am a brave fighter. These small reminders helped shape me into the person I am proud to be today.

Hope

Hope for me is seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel.  Hope is a reminder that I can get through even the toughest of times because I am strong enough to face any challenges that come my way.

News Archive

First Global Leadership Summit brings partner universities to our university
2012-05-17

The University of the Free State (UFS) is gearing up for the Global Leadership Summit when students from universities all over the world will visit the UFS. The summit will take place from Sunday 8 July to Friday 20 July 2012. About 180 staff and students from universities in the United States, Asia and Europe are expected to visit the UFS during these two weeks and eminent scholars and politicians have already confirmed their participation. Among them are Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Dr Tim Murithi, Prof. Mark Solms, Fulbright Scholars who were previously tenured at the university, and a number of ambassadors.

Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Director: International Academic Programmes, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, says that our university has increasingly embedded internationalisation in its strategic priorities. The Leadership for Change Programme, jointly hosted by International Affairs and Student Affairs, is a significant step forward in this context. This innovative and unique programme, initiated in 2010, serves as a leadership development programme focused on first-year students. It aims to build layers of new thinking and engagement among students from diverse backgrounds. As part of a year-long engagement, each student spends a period abroad where there is intense exposure to the academic, social, cultural and residential lives of students in other countries. A formal mentor development programme for staff runs concurrently with the initiative.
 
In the 2010 programme, 71 students in various cohorts were placed at nine universities in the USA. Following on the success of this initiative, in 2011, 150 students were hosted at partner universities in the USA, Europe and Japan. The impact of cross-cultural and cross-border experiences on changing and enriching the participants’ minds and attitudes has been manifested in a wide variety of ways at both the UFS and the partner institutions.
 
The Global Leadership Summit, with the theme, “Transcending Boundaries of Global Change Leadership”, is a reciprocal programme of the Leadership for Change initiative. It will focus on international engagements in addressing salient issues around change leadership, diversity and racial reconciliation in Higher Education through critical dialogues between staff and students from all over the world.
 
The programme will be continued during 2013 when 150 students will again be selected for participation and placement abroad.


Media Release
17 May 2012
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: +27(0)51 401 2584
Cell: +27(0)83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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