Mental health literacy helps people cope with challenges

Professor Zukiswa Zingela, the executive dean of health sciences at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in Gqeberha, South Africa, has written a book on coping with stress and growing towards self-empowerment. It is described as an “easy-to-read, practical, step-by-step guide that provides life skills and coping mechanisms to navigate stressful situations”.

The book EPT to Bloom stems from an enhanced preparedness training (EPT) programme that Zingela, a medical doctor and psychiatrist by training, designed to support healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The programme was expanded and implemented beyond the healthcare sector in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team at NMU, including Dr Phumeza Kota-Nyati, a psychologist, and Professor Zoleka Soji, a social worker.

“As we emerged from the pandemic, it became clear that we are still faced with multiple challenges that affect our ability to cope with life in general, whether at home or at work,” Zingela says in a media release about the book. One of the negative effects of this is burnout – psychological distress related to feeling overwhelmed. The book is aimed at helping readers “take control of their ability to cope in the face of adversity,” she says.

Zingela proposes regular physical activity, such as walking, hiking, swimming or dancing to reduce stress levels, regularise sleep and improve energy levels.

She clarifies that depression can stem from “our thoughts revolving around our past, while anxiety can be driven by current worries and fears for tomorrow, meaning, we can often end up in a vicious cycle of despair”.

To deal with such emotions, she recommends practising mindfulness, which is learning to be fully “here and now and in the current moment and space”. This can be achieved through mindfulness techniques, meditation, yoga or finding time and space to enjoy nature.

“Tough times change us in critical ways, and the challenge is to make that change work for us,” Zingela explains. We have to find out what triggers our stress reactions because “we can never escape or outrun ourselves – for better or worse, we live with ourselves every day”.

Zingela spoke to University World News.

UWN: Please tell us a bit about yourself.

ZZ: I see myself as an advocate for mental health, stemming from my passion for psychiatry and mental health services. Born and bred in Zwide, Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, I am an African woman shaped by my personal and societal experiences, which have contributed to my approach to life and world views.

I appreciate my heritage, which includes both strengths and vulnerabilities, either inherited or nurtured by my parents and extended family.

UWN: The images in the book are striking. They mostly seem to be generated by artificial intelligence, right?

ZZ: Yes, they are. I was curious about what one could produce with AI. Also, it was the quickest way to generate additional descriptive information for what I wanted to share.

UWN: All the people depicted in the book are black. Why?

ZZ: This was an intentional decision meant to be inclusive rather than exclusive.

Ever since I fell in love with books from a young age, the images drew me before I even understood the words. In the fairy tales and comic books I looked at as a child, none of the people depicted looked like me, my siblings, cousins, friends or parents. As much as they introduced me to a wonderful world of excitement and creativity, I somehow also felt excluded. And even back then, I wondered why.

Often, in my head, I would change details, going from green eyes to brown, from blonde tresses to thick afros. So, when it came to adding images to my book, it was natural for me to use images that looked like me and most people in my world.

There are a host of other books that are still the same as before. The images in EPT to Bloom enhance the opportunity for tangible representation.

UWN: Why did you become a psychiatrist?

ZZ: Psychiatry, psychology and mental health are fields that interested me in medical school from the first time we were taught different theories on the development of personality. Studying human behaviour fascinated me, even when my peers were complaining that they did not get it because it did not seem to consist of cold, hard facts like other disciplines of medicine.

UWN: Why did you also go into academia, and why this book?

ZZ: It was a natural evolution because I love to share my knowledge – to guide and to teach. This book is an extension of my passion for mental health literacy. It provides guidance for the average person on how to access the inherent power we all have to cope with both everyday challenges and extraordinary stress.

UWN: The media release about your book mentions “an explosion of mental and psychological distress”. Can you give us some stats?

ZZ: According to the World Health Organization, back in 2019, one in eight people were living with a mental disorder, the commonest of which were anxiety and depression. That’s close to a billion people, and this number went up once COVID-19 struck.

By 2021, The Mental State of the World report confirmed an ongoing decline in the mental health of many people across the world, based on data from 34 countries, including South Africa, with young people (aged 18-24) among the most affected. This decline was linked to the pandemic and associated lockdown measures.

UWN: Do you ever get stressed or down, and how do you cope?

ZZ: Everyone gets stressed and down sometimes. We would not be human if we did not. Such experiences are an essential part of life. We develop and grow each time we navigate challenges successfully. Enhanced mental health literacy allows us to recognise what we are going through, and to take proactive steps to cope. Managing your own mental health is like checking the weather forecast and taking appropriate measures, like applying sunscreen or packing an umbrella.

But balance in all things we do is essential because your focus may fluctuate, depending on your life stage and individual experiences. A young person has different needs to someone who is preparing for retirement. What also helps is perspective, so that we don’t think it’s a catastrophe every time things don’t go our own way.

I have found these approaches very useful in my own life. You will know what works for you when your soul is at peace most of the time. Of course, specific mental disorders would require an assessment and interventions from trained mental health professionals.

UWN: Does our contemporary existence have a negative impact on mental health?

ZZ: It is not necessarily making things worse, just presenting us with a different set of challenges compared with what we had to deal with in the past. Navigating social media is a real and tangible challenge, but so is anxiety about global warming, as well as armed conflicts, hunger, and the competition for resources around the world.

Closer to home, we have concerns about unemployment, crime, safety and security, service delivery, substance abuse, gender-based violence, as well as the abuse of children and the elderly. All of these contribute to the state of our mental health as a country.

UWN: Regarding the workplace, does coping imply we just have to put up with the causes of our unhappiness without doing something about it?

ZZ: Not at all – in fact, quite the opposite. The book has a section on examining the roles we take on in each setting, empowering you to act proactively from a position of self-knowledge. It also guides you to examine your sphere of influence within the groups and teams you live and work in. It then becomes possible to see what is within your control, and where you would need support when confronted by difficult colleagues or bosses.

UWN: People sometimes look down on self-help books. Are they wrong?

ZZ: Actually, there has been a growing trend, magnified by COVID-19, for people to access self-help books in the safety of their own spaces. It is sometimes described as the self-improvement market, driven by a need for personal growth and development. It’s a multibillion-dollar industry globally, expected to grow for the next decade at least, worldwide. And, contrary to what some people might think, most readers are men – with about 40% of them between 25 and 44 years old, and 16% between 18 and 24.

The book EPT to Bloom is available as a hard copy or e-book on Takealot and Amazon.