{"id":6785,"date":"2025-09-26T07:55:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T05:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hconline.co.za\/?p=5757"},"modified":"2025-09-26T07:55:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T05:55:46","slug":"unlocking-minds-breaks-stigma-surrounding-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/unlocking-minds-breaks-stigma-surrounding-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking Minds breaks stigma surrounding mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Emalahleni<\/strong> \u2013 A not-for-profit organisation called Unlocking Minds hosted a mental wellness event aimed to educate, heal and create a dialogue that reminds people that mental health matters just as much as physical health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over 40 people attended the event held at Lynnville on 20 September 2025. The day became an open space where conversations flowed freely about trauma, childhood experiences and the hidden ways abuse can affect mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mental health remains a sensitive topic in many South African households, often whispered about rather than spoken aloud. Many in the audience nodded knowingly as speakers unpacked how issues like depression, anxiety and even violent behaviour can stem from unaddressed childhood wounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlocking Minds chairperson Thokozani Sithebe said, \u201cHealing begins with understanding.\u201d He highlighted that stigma surrounding mental health often leaves people silent, thinking they must endure their pain alone. \u201cBut silence breeds the cycle. Today is about breaking that silence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nunu Motaung, a psychologist who has worked extensively with Mpumalanga communities, said: \u201cMental health affects everyone \u2013 directly or indirectly. When we educate people, we make it easier to understand not just ourselves but each other\u2026 If we understand a person\u2019s mental state, we can begin to break cycles of violence and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the partners who lent their support were Winter Msibi Real Estate, Old Mutual, Barko Loans and Vuma Fibre, contributing resources and showing that businesses can support community mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen businesses stand with people, it sends a powerful message that mental health is not a side issue \u2013 it is a community priority,\u201d said Sithebe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the attendees, Lerato Mahlangu, shared how childhood trauma shaped her anxiety and how the event helped her understand that her pain does not define her. \u201cThis event gave me hope that I can heal, and I feel lighter knowing that I am not alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speakers emphasised that while GBV has many causes \u2013 patriarchy, inequality, poverty \u2013 it is often fuelled by unresolved trauma. If abusers had access to mental health support early in life, and if survivors had safe spaces to process their pain, cycles of violence could be broken.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emalahleni \u2013 A not-for-profit organisation called Unlocking Minds hosted a mental wellness event aimed to educate, heal and create a dialogue that reminds people that mental health matters just as much as physical health. Over 40 people attended the event held at Lynnville on 20 September 2025. The day became an open space where conversations&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-tie-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Unlocking Minds breaks stigma surrounding mental health - Highveld Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/unlocking-minds-breaks-stigma-surrounding-mental-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unlocking Minds breaks stigma surrounding mental health - Highveld Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emalahleni \u2013 A not-for-profit organisation called Unlocking Minds hosted a mental wellness event aimed to educate, heal and create a dialogue that reminds people that mental health matters just as much as physical health. 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