Shudufhadzo Musida has delivered on a promise she made on the Miss South Africa (Miss SA) finale. On 8 February, she launches Mindful Mondays, an awareness campaign centred around mental health.
What are Mindful Mondays about?
On a recent Instagram post, Musida revealed that the time had come for her to hold true to her promise of bringing the topic of mental health to the fore of South Africa’s discourse.
“As I mentioned on the final night of Miss SA that I would like to start a mindful movement; one that aims to inform how we as a society view mental health and de-stigmatising it,” she wrote.
Musida’s goal in her tenure as Miss SA is to de-stigmatise mental health in a country that doesn’t embrace its many facets.
“The more we talk about it, the more we’ll learn and understand the complexities of this issue,” she added.
It’s for this reason that she and the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) have launched Mindful Mondays, “a series of conversations I will be having with experts on mental health and how to prioritise not only your own wellbeing but also of those around us.”
Shudufhadzo Musida’s first guest will be…
The series will take place on Musida’s Instagram page, every Monday from 19:00. The first guest will be clinical psychologist and Sadag board member Zamo Mbele.
In a statement, Sadag detailed the contents of the discussion.
“Their discussion will include the difference between mental health and mental illness; mental health stats in SA; how it impacts people; what are some of the different types of mental health issues; who treats them; what resources are available and how Covid-19 has impacted mental health,” the depression group noted.
On the next insert, Musida will explore the depths of teen depression with a guest that’s not been named yet.
“By using her powerful platform and her compassion towards mental health, we hope to debunk myths, encourage people to seek help and share practical self-help tips for people to use as part of their mental wellness,” Sadag wrote.