POLL | Do you see a therapist for mental health issues?

In recent weeks, headlines have been dominated by suicide deaths, triggering concern about how people handle mental health issues.

Last Thursday a 23-year-old constable killed himself inside the Sophiatown police station in Johannesburg. Rivar Swartz allegedly shot himself with a service firearm and left a letter saying he committed suicide after experiencing “bullying” from his superiors. 

Four days before that, a Standard Bank employee fell to her death at the offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg. She fell from the sixth floor of the building. The case was registered as an inquest and not a murder case.

A week before that Joseph Maimela, a grade 12 pupil from Kgabo Secondary School in Ga-Mokgokong, took his own life because of bullying he allegedly endured at school  from his teachers.

Recent findings from an SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) survey showed more than half of South African workers have expressed a desire to leave their jobs. The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day last week was mental health in the workplace.

Conducted in August, Sadag's “Working Life” online survey collected responses from 963 employees across different sectors, including education, health, finance and media. Notably, 60% of respondents wished they could afford to quit their jobs, and 50% felt unhappy about returning to work each Monday. 

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