Stress is a natural human response that’s part of everyday life which affects adults and adolescents to some degree. However, when stress becomes overwhelming or difficult to bear it may result in mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. It is often difficult for people to talk about mental health disorders due to fear of stigmatisation. In order to raise awareness and protect all those affected by mental health disorders, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared 10 October as Mental Health Day. According to the 2022 World Mental Health Report, there were 970 million people globally living with mental disorders in 2019, including 14% of the world’s adolescents. Furthermore, a different report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) ranked South Africa amongst the highest countries living with mental disorders. While this year’s theme was ‘Mental Health at Work’, it is also relevant to learners because – like employees – learners spend about two-thirds of their lives at school. In an unhealthy school environment, learners may experience stigma, bullying, discrimination, harassment, amongst many others that can trigger or exacerbate mental health issues. This can lead to lack of concentration, poor performance, absenteeism or even worse, suicide. Let us always remember to be kind and lend a helping hand to our peers and broader communities to lessen each other’s stress. This month’s feature article is based on the Census 2022 provincial profile: KwaZulu-Natal (Report No. 03-01-74), published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on 27 June 2024. Look out for our monthly crossword puzzle and the solutions for September 2024. Articles published in this issue are based on results of industry surveys conducted for July and August 2024.

Download Mbalo brief – October 2024