South African radio host on depression - 'I was so numb when the razor slashed across my skin'

Thandolwethu, a radio host on East Coast Urban, has opened up about her battle with depression, explaining that many people dismiss it as "Hai, we all have problems."

In an open letter penned on the stations website, Thandolwethu said that love can be ignorant because many people are not educated about depression.

She said that very often people with depression are called moody.

"How the voices of their family push them deeper into darkness with comments about how it's an ancestral issue, next thing you’re becoming iSangoma or they call you moody, and all you want to do is scream "Something is wrong", but you can’t because you have no light and no voice."

Thandolwethu said that she resorted to cutting herself.

"I was so numb that when that razor slashed across my skin and that pain ran through my body, I was glad I could feel something that meant I was alive. I was never suicidal (thank the universe). I was just numb."

She said that she hoped her story would help people find the light.