It is an absolute crisis but not completely unexpected that mental health institutions report the rate of depression among South Africans to be at an all-time high.
It has reached crisis levels among men because men are the last ones to admit they have a problem.
In fact, some of the vicious acts of child abuse and neglect, the killing of women and the high homicide rate among men attest to the fact that our state of mental health as a society is not where it should be.
It is also reported that the South African Depression and Anxiety Group has noted an increase in the number of men calling its helplines - about a hundred out of 400 calls daily.
The number of men admitted to private psychiatric clinics for depression in 2013 was a third higher than in 2010.
Now, with our country in the throes of tough economic times and many companies, including mines, shedding jobs by the thousands, the future looks bleak for many struggling families.
This means South Africa must brace itself for more cases of violence, femicide and child abuse as depression sets in and more men lose their status as breadwinners.
Men also need to learn that when they are depressed, anxious or stressed it is normal to seek help. We should make it normal for men to go and see a psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist or church counsellor because, as men, they are human too.Depression is a mental illness. It's not a "woman thing" because men are perceived to be tougher and stronger.
Rather than allow depression to drive us to drink and drugs, which then leads to woman and child abuse, we should identify it for what it is, an illness that needs medical intervention.
Statistics among teenagers should ring alarm bells for all of us because they show that more women than men attempt suicide, but more men succeed because they use the most violent means - guns and hangings. Women use chemicals and overdose on medication.
Just recently, popular Yizo Yizo and Zone 14 actor Christopher "Gunman" Kubheka committed suicide by shooting himself.Could it be that the high rate of violent suicide among men means that women have more support structures than men?
Or does it mean women seek help earlier when they have problems and are depressed?
I suspect that the answer to both questions is a resounding no.
Women, too, are going through hard times, raising children as single parents, battling to keep families together in an environment where children are abusing alcohol and drugs. But clearly they have a different way of dealing with their issues and their depression.
Women have learnt the art of talking and sharing their problems. Men need to learn from their mothers, sisters and colleagues that a problem shared is a problem halved. It certainly isn't gossip when one talks about a problem that he can't solve alone.
Men need to learn to use the mental health facilities that are provided by private and state health institutions to enable them to heal and be the true leaders they can be...