Zoleka Mandela on using her platform to shed light on mental health

With the knowledge that one in six South Africans suffers from anxiety, depression, or substance abuse disorders, Zoleka Mandela has dedicated her platform to sharing her journey with mental health.

The author and activist — the granddaughter of  SA’s most loved anti-apartheid icons, Nelson and Winnie Mandela — recently spoke openly about her battle with depression while promoting the Nestlé Cremora Joy of Inclusion #EveryonesIncluded campaign. 

Over the years the author has been candid about her more than decade-long drug and alcohol abuse and how it all stemmed from her attempts to numb her suicidal thoughts after being sexually and physically abused from the age of four until her teenage years.

“These are subjects that are still shrouded with so much discrimination and stigma. From my experience, there is nothing worse than feeling like you don’t have a voice, that no-one understands you. Feeling alone only worsens an illness like depression, which is already very isolating,” she said in a statement shared with TshisaLIVE.

While she has been open about her struggles, she has also spoken about her triumphant moments of being sober for nearly 12 years and becoming a single mother.

Zoleka says though she comes from a very large family, there have been many moments when she has felt alone and now she wants to help people deal with the same feeling.

“There is someone out there going through exactly what you are going through. I was only diagnosed with depression in 2010, shortly after my daughter’s death. But with my current understanding of depression I realised that I had been living with depression for a very long time — well into my teenage years. I want to be a beacon of hope for people on my social media pages and share my cautionary tales.”

Zoleka says being open about her experiences has helped her cope.

“There were so many things in my life that were not my fault and for a very long time I blamed myself — the physical and sexual abuse, for example. Even when I think of not being able to breastfeed my children because of the breast cancer.”

She is now owning her truth - the good, the bad and the ugly - and feeling comfortable in her skin, and wants others to feel the same. 

“Having to look at yourself in the mirror and every aspect of yourself — even those parts that you don’t like about yourself, which is something I do a lot of in therapy,” she said.

“Mental health is a very serious illness and it’s not something you should be ashamed of. It’s not your fault and things can get better with the right treatment.”