Stress is a natural human response that\u2019s 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\u2019s adolescents. Furthermore, a different report by the United Nations International Children\u2019s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) ranked South Africa amongst the highest countries living with mental disorders. While this year\u2019s theme was \u2018Mental Health at Work\u2019, it is also relevant to learners because \u2013 like employees \u2013 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\u2019s stress. This month\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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Download Mbalo brief \u2013\u00a0October\u00a02024<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stress is a natural human response that\u2019s 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 read more »<\/a><\/p>\n