'Sometimes prayer doesn't fix it' - Shalima Mkongi on living with a mental illness

Through an emotionally-charged video, actress Shalima Mkongi has shared her journey of suffering with a mental illness to help create conversations around the stigma attached to mental illnesses.  

"I mean some days are good, some days I am on a high and I forget. But... you are not weak for crying. You are not weak for having depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or whatever. And I am not bashing religion or like cultural traditions... sometimes prayer doesn't fix it."

Shalima said she decided to share her journey to encourage other people to talk about their own experiences, and revealed that she had started a new campaign. 

"Mental illnesses affects a lot of people but some people are afraid of speaking out about it because of the negative social stigma created around the topic. It is so brushed under the carpet that some people don’t even know that they’re battling with a mental illness. Knowing this, I decided to create this video ( for healing mostly ), as a means to open a conversation about what we deal with everyday, about our experiences with mental illnesses."

Speaking to DJ Sbu on Massiv Metro last month, Shalima said she it is important for more people to be educated about mental health, because black people often associated it with witchcraft.   

"I would love to challenge writers and myself to start writing stories on the mental illness within the black community. I'd love to write a film about why black people think when you have (an illness like) schizophrenia you have been bewitched?" she said.

In the video, Shalima features two other young women, who describe their emotions and their struggles with depression and mental illnesses.

Watch the video clip below: