Everything you need to know about Depression.

Depression has robbed South Africa and the entire world of many young and talented stars, from musicians, actors and academics. Most tragic is that these personalities who had battled serious depression left their families, fans and the public bereft and shocked after they committed suicide.

South African music industry has lost hip hop legend Jabulani Tsambo, better known as HHP in 2018, award-winning actress Shoki Mokgapa was best known for her role as Disebo on the e.tv soapie Ashes to Ashes also committed suicide the same year as HHP. She was struggling with clinical depression. Khensani Maseko a Rhodes University student who was allegedly raped by her boyfriend, committed suicide. We as South Africans, university of cape Town in particular lost its Dean of Health sciences, Professor Bongani Mayosi who has committed suicide after he struggled with depression. Motsweding FM's DJ Lara Kruger, born Thapelo Lehuleri died in January 2018 after she committed suicide when the depression demon led her into a dark hole.
Recently again SA music industry has lost singer, house music vocalist Nachume who has committed suicide. Just to name a few great south Africans we have lost due to depression, may the good lord rest their souls in eternal peace, their spirits continue to live on.

When we look beyond the borders of our beautiful country south Africa below is the list of great people we have lost, Stephanie Adams, American former glamour model, known as the November 1992 playboy playmate, jumped from a 25th floor window after pushing out her 7-year old son, Vincent. Leelah Alcorn, American transgender teenager, walked in front of a truck. August Ames, Canadian actress and model, hanging, suffered from depression and died after backlash to a controversial tweet. Simone Battle, x Factor contestant and member of the pop band G. R. L hanging, due to depression over financial issues. Helena Belmonte, Filipina model, jumped off a building, Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish documentary filmmaker, jumped in front of a moving train, he was struggling with depression, Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler, hanged himself after killing his wife and son, had suffered from dementia and depression.

Isabella Blow, English magazine editor, and muse to fashion designer Alexander McQueen, poisoning. Jonathan Brandis, American actor, hanging, he was depressed about his career, which had slowly declined in recent years and he was drinking heavily. Katelyn Nicole Davis, American student, hanging, due to abuse, bullying and depression. Lastly Bill Zeller, American computer programmer, developer of my tunes, oxygen deprivation due to hanging led to brain damage, taken off life support, due to depression over being sexually abused as a young child, the list is endless and it is so unbelievable and shocking that the demon of depression has robbed us locally and internationally of so many great people and continues to take away our loved ones day by day. The question we continue to ask ourselves is are we actually doing enough to help and support people who are suffering from depression or we are suffering in silence.

According to WHO, approximately one million people commit suicide each year worldwide, that is about one death every 40 seconds or 3,000 per day. For each individual who takes his/her own life.,at least 20 attempt to do so. Suicide has mortality rate of 16 per 100,000 people.

These jobs have highest suicide rates in the United States, according to the CDC. Men who work in  construction and extraction had the highest rates of suicide in the United States, according to a report published Thursday by the US centers for disease control and prevention. For women, suicide rates were highest among those who work in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media. For women, the largest increase - - 54% from 2012 to 2015 was among food preparation and serving - related occupations, such as chefs, bar managers and baristas. For both sexes, the occupational group with lowest rate of suicides was education, training and library.

Age groups.

Suicide rates by age. In 2017,the highest suicide rate (20.2) was among adults between 45 and 54 years of age. The second highest rate(20.1) occurred in those 85 years or older. Younger groups have had consistently lower suicide rates than middle - aged and older adults.

Why are men more likely to than women to take their own lives?

Studies have found that men are more likely than women to have drunk alcohol in the hours before a suicide attempt, and that alcohol problems are more common in men who die by suicide than in women. Given the unequal burden of distress implied by the figures. It is hardly surprising that women are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts. The Adult psychiatric morbidity in England 2007 survey found that 19% of women had considered taking their own life. For men the figure was 14%. And women aren't simply more likely to think about suicide - they are also more likely to act on the idea. The survey found that 7% of women and 4% of men had attempted suicide at some point in their lives.

But of the 5,981 deaths by suicide in the UK in 2012, more than three quarters (quarters) were males. In the US, of the 38,000 people who took their own lives in 2010, 79% were men.

The choice of suicide method, males and females.

In the UK, for instance, 58% of male suicides involved hanging, strangulation or suffocation. For females the figure was 36%.Poisoning (which includes overdoses) was used by 43% of female suicides, compared with 20% of males. A similar pattern has been identified in the US, where 56% of male suicides involved firearms, with most common method for females ( 37.4%).
Women will opt for methods that preserve their appearance, and avoid those that cause facial disfigurement. Firearms were the most common method used by both sexes. Women who attempt suicide tend to use nonviolent means, such as overdosing. Men often use firearms or hanging, which are more likely to result in death.

How to deal with depression.

Talking : Talking to family, friends, work colleagues, and your boss about your thoughts and worries will help you, let off steam. You may be comforted to find that you are "not the only one". You may even find there is an easy solution that you had not thought of.

Acknowledging the signs: A person can be so anxious about the problem that is causing the depression that they do not notice, the effects on their body.

Establishing support networks: talk to neighbors and others in the local community, or joining a club, charity, or religious organizations.

Seek professional help : I would like to advise everyone who visit this blog with suicidal thoughts or anyone else who feel depressed to seek professional help from experts urgently. As I only give advice on this blog not solutions. Don't suffer in silence there is help out there, break the silence and let people hear your voice, never take your suffering lightly.

Depression Bible verses
The scripture that will encourage us to find peace and joy in the midst of depressing circumstances and feelings. Overcome depression with the help of God and his holy spirit!

Philippians 4:8

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, don't be discouraged.

Psalm 34:17

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them, he delivers them from all their troubles.

Psalm 40:1-3
Psalm 3:3
Psalm 32:10
Psalm 42:11
1 Peter 5:6-7
John 16:33
Romans 8:38-39
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Isaiah 41:10

Contacts:

To contact a counselor call: 011 234 4837
Suicidal emergency contact : 0800 567 567
24h helpline 0800 456 789

Zero to hero

We must never loose hope and focus.
Once upon a time there was a young man called Sibusiso and his friend nicknamed him "The general" and some of his friends again shortened his name and called him "Sbu". He was tall, and very handsome looking young man. A typical Kasi guy who was often found hanging around in the street corners of Alexander township with his friends, as they were biggest fans of hip hop music, singing and rapping is what they enjoyed more than anything else.His friends and everybody who knew him were calling him by all him names because of the way he was so vibrant and energetic. But Sibusiso preferred to be called " The general "instead of all other names. Every time when somebody used his nickname to call him, he could not hide his smile. He knew and understood the meaning of his nickname better than all of his other names.His attitude and actions towards life in general were hidden in the meaning of his nickname. If you know and understand the nickname " The general " I'm sure you can quickly draw Sbu's picture in your mind.He was also funny as well and I guess that's why he was always surrounded by all his friends. Sibusiso was born an bred in Alexander township in Johannesburg.
He was raised by a single parent and he wanted to become a successful businessman one day.The most amazing thing about his dream is that he never showed interest in business since high school.And what was interesting about this young man was his desire to become a musician. "The general" was a very talented and gifted young man. Everything he was doing something, he did it so well and perfect.He had very skilful hands and wits as well. Since high school he had always been like that and his friends often hailed him with compliments and said "everything that Sbu touches turns into gold, he is a jack of all trades". " The general " as his friends called him took advantage of his positive energy and attitude and he begun to do so many things in his life. I mean who could have blamed him because he was very smart and gifted in many ways. He
started by opening a spaza shop that was running from his garage at home and everything was going well in his small business. One day he decided to go and register for a short business management course with unisa. As he was now running his business and studying it he started to realise that soon he will become a successful young businessman if he continues to work hard. While he was busy studying one day his friend Sabelo came and told him about the singing auditions that were happening next weekend at the local radio station "Alex fm" and immediately they started rehearsing and preparing to audition. They had spend a month preparing for the auditions and eventually the big day arrived(auditioning day) but unfortunately both Sabelo and S'bu aka "the general" regardless of their preparations they didn't go through to the next round. When he was busy preparing for the auditions he forgot all about his business and studies, and as a result both his business and studies suffered and he dropped out of Varsity because he struggled to pay fees. He was now left with his business but the business eventually collapsed because he had no time as he was going in and out of singing if not acting auditions.

After some few years he realized that he has been very busy in his life but he had nothing to show and prove what he has been doing all along because he dropped out of varsity, his business collapsed, he didn't get even a single acting gig nor recording deal. When he was hanging together with his friends in a street corner one day, an argument broke out after one of his friends joked and said" S'bu is the jack of all trades but the master of none", Sbu got very angry and decided to go home. At home S'bu started to think very hard about his future.  S'bu was not just a typical Kasi guy, he was a great thinker that's why his friends liked him that much and often relied on him when they needed advice. In the end S'bu aka "the general" realized his mistakes and was now ready to rectify them so that he can move on with his life. And he found that he also misunderstood his nickname "the general". He found out that the biggest mistake he had done was to think that he could do all most everything at the same time of which is impossible. Basically S'bu didn't focus on one thing from the beginning until he could see the success of it, he lost focus and concentration time and time an again on what he was doing and lot of his time and energy has been wasted in the process but he had learnt a very important lesson in his life.
The most important thing that we must learn about this story is that, just because we are energetic, smart, gifted and talented we must not try to do everything at the same time. Trying to do many things at the same time, doesn't waste only our time but lot of our energy as well.Nowadays Lot of young people's time is been wasted because today you find them rapping and the next day you find them trying to fix cars,we are getting very distracted easily. We want to be successful overnight, we are not prepared to work hard nor to wait. People who become successful, work hard and focus on one thing until they succeed. I know of a guy who is now a medical doctor and he had studied seven years for it. It means he has spend seven working hard, seven years of sweat, blood and tears. Seven years of dedication and determination. After the completion of his studies he opened his own surgery.As we speak now he is a very successful Gospel artist and he has won lot of music awards within a short period of time . He is now a Successful medical doctor and a Gospel artist . And again he is now married, his name is Dr Tumi. All I can say is what an interesting journey indeed. See if we begin by planning, an then we act, and we put in a lot of hard work and focus there is nothing we can't achieve. What I'm saying is if we start something let's not give up until we finish, otherwise we will start so many things and everytime when the going gets tough we give up and end up with plenty of unfinished projects.

Keep coming back to this website because S'bu aka "the general" still continues...

Worry less and worship more.

Lets worry less and worship more.
In the book of Luke12:25-26, the lord and our saviour Jesus says 25" Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?". Today we are living in a world were crime is seldom been normalized, criminals are often been glorified by youngsters and they take them as role models.

My message to my fellow young people not only in our country South Africa but throughout the world is that crime doesn't pay. There are so many challenges that we as youth from all four corners of the earth are facing on a daily basis that need an urgent solution and committing crime nor suicide is not the solution.Bible says the wages of sin is death.
One of the most common and a very serious issues we are facing as young people not only in our land but throughout the world is a high number of unemployment, youth in particular. As a result of these most young people end up abusing alcohol and drugs, dropping out of high school,getting stress and depression that drives them to commit crime if not suicide.

To all my fellow south africans, young people in particular and everybody who might be going through the same situation and challenges, I would like you to understand something. And I'm not saying this just because I'm a motivational speaker in fact I have been through some of the situations and challenges that you are currently going through and I'm still here. So over and above all that I know and understand your confusions and frustrations. I'm a young black African man from previously disadvantaged background. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I was born and bred in a small village. I grew up playing in the dusty streets. I grew up as a Shepherd boy just like many other African boys. For us to eat meat we had to get into the nearest tangled forests and hunt for rabbits and all other eatable wild animals we could get, I must say that we risked getting bitten by all kinds of poisoners snakes including pythons, just for us to eat meat. Sometimes it was fun and very dangerous as well.

As students we had to walk for more than five miles to get to school and back home on a daily basis. Today I can read and write thanks God. And I am Proudly South African. I am a black man from the dark side. Whatever the difficulties we have faced in the past and in the present will never make me to hate my fellow countryman black and white. Hating one another will never be the solution. Pointing fingers at each other won't fix anything. Fighting one another is not the best way to deal with societal issues. If we can continue to work together as a country young black men and white men there is a lot we can achieve. I don't even own a small piece of land in our country and I'm only just a motivational speaker with no financial support from anyone but it worries me when I realise that most white farmers in South Africa are now living in fear everyday of being killed by some insane individual who can't even spell the word "land". The only support I'm getting is when you keep visiting this website for more motivation and sharing it with your friends and family. And getting invited to deliver motivational talks at schools, churches,weddings and other events. By sharing my personal experiences and stories through motivation, that's how I get support. I'm passionate about motivation and every time when somebody get inspired and motivated to pursue their dreams and career, I become very excited and I sleep peaceful at night knowing that I have changed somebody's life.

Many of our parents had raised us working in these farms. If I don't own a farm how could killing one farmer make me own one. And honestly speaking I like farming with my whole heart but I know nothing about farming, the only thing that I'm good at is teaching IT if not doing motivational speaking. So to all my fellow peace loving South Africans let's condemn the killings of all farmers with all possible terms.One death of a farmer black and White is too many.

 Only through negotiations we can find solutions to our problems, these is the legacy of  Nelson Mandela and all other great leaders of our country.The man who stayed 27years behind prison bars and still came out and said "I forgive my jailers". He knew and understood the importance of forgiveness very well. He didn't receive a Nobel peace price by mistake. A global icon and a very educated man who was well versed in law. Let me tell you wherever you are young and old people, we grow in trials and tribulations. Job in the Bible says" a man born of a woman his days on earth are few and full of trouble ", meaning no matter how rich or poor you can be, you cannot duck and dive troubles of life. That's how we learn and grow, but if we are strong enough in the end we will always get double for our trouble. Remember that always we reap what we sow and if we sow hatred that's what we will get in the end.

 As young people let's not allow temporal problems to push us to engage in wrongful activities. Instead of spending lot of time complaining about unemployment, let's create employment and volunteer in community projects. Instead of looking for somebody who can help us let's look for people we can help, its not always about financial support. I believe our hands and wits will be always needed somewhere else. And I think by helping each other is the rent we are paying here on earth. The moment we feel like we can't make it, let's think of those who are less fortunate. The fact of the matter is life is not equally fair to all of us, and it doesn't treat us equally. I mean if today Steven is complaining about the long hours he spend working, on the other hand Sizwe is worrying about being unemployed. Tomorrow Rose is complaining about not having food to eat at home while Rihanna worries about an incurable disease she has. Life is tough these are all different problems we go through on a day to day basis. Believe it or not no matter how blessed you could be in life, problems will always be there. We all have good days and bad ones, problems come and go. When we are going through difficulties of life, it doesn't mean is the end of our careers nor life. Where there is life there is hope, while we are busy trying to build something God is busy trying to build our characters.
Let's not worry too much about setbacks because God is only preparing great things ahead of us.Proper Planning and preparation is good for us to succeed in everything but that doesn't guarantee success, what does guarantee success is hard work and determination. Winners never quits because quitters never win, if Madiba spend 27years in prison fighting for apartheid and never gave up, it means anything is possible in life. We must never Waste our God given time on earth worrying about the things we have and what we don't have. Worrying and complaining simply drains our emotional energy and will definitely send us to an early grave. By worrying sometimes we think it will solve our problems but what it does is, it creates more problems. There are lot of illnesses we can invite into our health by worrying.

What I'm saying is let's continue to work together, pray together young black and white people in building our nation. Undermining and disrespecting each other is not the solution. As young people worry less and worship more all the time...

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