Simphiwe Dana on dealing with depression & life: Music is my therapy

Songstress Simphiwe Dana makes music that has been hailed for its soothing and healing powers, and the singer who has opened up about dealing with depression, said her music also plays a therapeutic role in her own life.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE the songstress shared that she's been told by some of her supporters that her music has rescued them when the world overwhelmed them and that she shares the same sentiments.

"That is why I write music. I write music as a form of healing for myself and I guess that is why I mainly write my own songs, because for me it's therapy. It's a way of taking out the pain and putting it in a song. But also in an affirmative way that makes me feel stronger."

Simphiwe said that she 's had to teach herself new ways of dealing with emotional or psychological issues.

The singer said that historically, for most people (in black communities) it was a burden to deal with issues such as illnesses like depression when the financial, social, politically and things like colonialism and apartheid seemed more "pressing".

"Most people see emotional issues as a weakness and therefore, at the most, and people will mean well but they tell you 'you must just be strong'."

Simphiwe said the failure for most people to acknowledge that depression needs medical attention resulted in the stigma attached the diagnosis. 

The Ndiredi hitmaker said people with depression are made to feel "alone, misunderstood and misdiagnosed". 

"It's not because of lack of strength that people get depressed, it's a psychological condition, a chemical condition that basically needs medical attention like any other illness. So yes, many in black communities still don't afford themselves an opportunity to deal with depression as an illness. As a result we've lost many people that we didn't have to lose because there were no support structures in the communities."