Mental health pandemic

More and more South Africans are battling debilitating depression and anxiety, with more than a million popping antidepressant medication on a daily basis.

As Mental Health Awareness Month gets underway, statistics show that South Africans are facing a mental health pandemic, with new cases diagnosed almost daily.

Research by pharmaceutical marketing company Integrated Marketing Solutions, conducted over a five-year period between 2011 to last year, with specific focus on the private sector, revealed that one in five South Africans is currently depressed and taking antidepressant medication.

This translates to more than one million people.

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) estimates that 16 to 23% of South Africans suffer from anxiety, which tends to mostly affect people between the ages of 18 to 44.

The statistics go on to show that more women are affected by anxiety as compared to men, with up to two-thirds of sufferers never seeking help.

Pharma Dynamics spokeswoman Mariska van Aswegen – whose pharmaceutical company is one of the leading antidepressant medication providers in the country and an advocate for mental wellness – said the numbers were frightening.

According to Van Aswegen, more than 30% of South Africans will experience at least one episode of clinical depression in their lifetime; one in four people in the workplace have been diagnosed with depression; and a whopping 31.5% of teenagers have attempted suicide.

Depressive symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, constant fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, lack of interest in activities previously enjoyed and suicidal thoughts.

“Mzansians also consume 56% more antidepressants than they did a mere five years ago,” she said.

“Many organisations will have launched campaigns this July in the wake of national mental illness awareness month, in an effort to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health, but the question still remains, what is the root cause and how are we manufacturing a depressed society?”

An excessive consumption of junk food, consumerism, chronic disease, psychological issues, lack of physical exercise and ignorance have been blamed.

According to research conducted by marketing and research company Analytix Consumer Analysis on junk food consumption in the country, about 78% to 80% of those 16 years and older eat junk food on a regular basis, foods which have been linked to depression.

This amounts to about 30 million South Africans.

“A team of researchers from the University College London discovered that people who regularly eat dessert, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products are 58% more likely to be clinically depressed.

“Those who eat a healthy diet rich in whole foods like fruit, veggies and lean protein are 26% less likely to be depressed. South Africans drastically need to take a closer look at what they’re eating,” said Van Aswegen.

Van Aswegen said some people have a psychological attachment to misery, feeling more familiar with misery than with feeling good.

She said this was often used by many, and especially people from broken homes, as a coping mechanism.

Accustomed to feeling that way, the feeling becomes, in a sense, their safe place. This unfortunately leads the individual into a situation where they continuously make choices that keep them in that realm of familiar misery.

“By doing so, they unknowingly sabotage themselves, which can be a vicious cycle and difficult to combat on their own. Broken homes are also more prevalent today than ever before.”

Consumerism, where individuals seek happiness in things that intrinsically cannot provide lasting happiness, leads to chronic depression.

Research conducted by Northwestern University found that those who place a high value on wealth, status and material goods are generally more depressed, anxious and less sociable than those who don’t.

A rise in chronic diseases – such as hypertension, cancer and diabetes – can also affect a person’s mental wellness, Van Aswegen said, adding that a lack of regular exercise can also increase one’s risk of depression.

She said: “Sadly, 49% of South Africans don’t exercise regularly. Moving your body releases feel-good endorphins, which helps with detoxification and increases body temperature, which has an overall calming effect on the mind and body.”

Panic attacks, a sudden surge of overwhelming fear that comes without warning and for no obvious reason, are also on the rise.

In a statement released earlier this week by Sadag founder Zane Wilson, who suffered from daily panic attacks, the availability of help is highlighted.

East London-based Dr Daya Appavoo said after explaining to a patient what is happening to their bodies, the next step would be to find non-medical treatment as a start.

Failing that, a mild tranquilliser would be prescribed, and if symptoms did not lessen, the patient would be referred to a psychologist.

Appavoo said statistics on how many patients were treated for anxiety in East London were difficult to get, but he dealt with at least two such cases a week.

“ the most common type of anxiety we treat is related to exam pressure. Other common issues are problems at home or issues at the work place,” he said.

Anxiety attacks affected people of all ages, he said.

“For older patients, related to work stress .”

Explaining what patients would feel during an attack, Sadag’s Dr Colinda Linde said it was common for sufferers to end up in emergency rooms, thinking they were having a heart attack.

“Many people avoid driving or visiting public places fearing they may faint during an attack,” she said, adding, “while you may feel faint and dizzy during a panic attack, it is highly unlikely that you will faint.

“The reason for this is simple. Fainting is generally caused by a drop in blood pressure and during a panic attack, your blood pressure rises slightly.”

Linde said an important part of the treatment was to help sufferers to feel empowered through cognitive behavioural therapy, which could assist them to change the way they thought about their surroundings and their symptoms.

“During cognitive behavioural therapy, people learn to recognise their earliest thoughts and feelings and modify their response to them instead of thinking ‘I’m going to have a heart attack’, rather think and say ‘its only uneasiness, it will pass’,” Linde said.

East London-based counselling psychologist Lisa Wittstock, who is currently working towards a PhD through Northwest University on depression with her data being linked to adults and children within the Buffalo City Metro, said she had counselled a number of patients suffering from both conditions, which she explained were often linked.

“The numbers are worrying. At this stage it seems as if depression will lie second only to ischaemic heart disease by 2020, according to the World Health Organisation.

“When it comes to employees, depression often causes a decrease in productivity in the workplace because employees are often sick and end up taking a lot of time off work.

“In men, it usually presents itself as anger, aggression and often rage. You hardly ever see a man crying.

“That’s sometimes the case in children too. Like the child that gets called out for bullying is often in detention for bad, aggressive behaviour or is always sent to the naughty corner.

“It doesn’t always happen like that but I have come across many cases like that.”

Wittstock said research showed that medication was 80% successful in treating depression, although patients did sometimes relapse if the root causes of the depression weren’t also dealt with.

“Medication is also relatively expensive,” she said.

Anxiety was treated in the same manner as depression, Wittstock said.

“Depression and anxiety are treated in the same way because they are often linked.

“They usually present the same kind of symptoms except that the person with anxiety will be a little bit jittery too and they often have feelings of impending doom and frequent worrying.”— zisandan@dispatch.co.za