Psychologists have warned that the downsizing is having a profound effect on South Africans, causing anxiety and depression for many and possibly being fatal.
South Africa has been dealing with relentless and deliberate power cuts at an unprecedented rate affecting the daily lives of ordinary South Africans.
Eliminate the burden
According to Outlier, January 2022 is the only month in more than a year without a load.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa scratches his head to find a lasting solution to the electricity crisis, South Africans are suffering.
Food rotting in the fridge, traffic jams, children not being able to do their homework and simply not being able to drink a cup of coffee are some of the challenges South Africans face every day as Eskom continues to impose deliberate blackouts in the country. .
The trending hashtag #fedupwithloadshedding on Twitter is proof that enough is enough.
The psychological impact of burden reduction
However, will South Africans recover from the psychological impact of the burden reduction?
Talk to The WargaPsychologist Lana Blok said one big contributing factor is the loss of control that comes with deliberate power cuts.
“As soon as an individual feels out of control, anxiety arises and if it continues, it can lead to depression levels.”
Block said the growing impact of anxiety and depression can be fatal, especially when compounded by other personal challenges and issues.
“Anything that causes anxiety and depression, anywhere can lead to (suicide). I would think that if that’s the case, there’s a lot more going on with the individual than just letting go of the burden.
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Motherhood challenges when shedding burdens
The Warga spoke to a mother from Lenasia South about her daily struggles with reducing the burden.
A woman who has two boys and prefers to remain anonymous said the deliberate blackout has had a huge impact on her life.
She said the lack of electricity meant she had to cook dinner for her family, clean the house, help with homework and have to endure the ever-increasing traffic jams while she was at work.
“I am very frustrated with this burden. I leave the house to work without lights. I can’t drink tea or coffee and when I come back, there is no bloody light.
“I have to cook for my children when they go to school and they are hungry and when my husband comes back from work, I only have half an hour to cook. I make a lot of money for takeaways because the burden is reduced,” he said.
Schedule
The mother of two, who is a full-time teacher, says Eskom’s erratic load shedding schedule is frustrating.
“The annoying thing is that the times are constantly changing. Sometimes two hours, sometimes four hours. It’s ridiculous, you can’t plan your day.
“Being a working mother, you have to see the children at school, participate in extracurricular activities afterwards. Even washing piles,” she added.
He said deliberate power outages also had an impact on household appliances.
“Don’t get me started on the fridge. My fridge is packed and starting to leak and we have to buy another one to replace it because it’s all on and off. So, all our appliances are going through this. My mom needs to replace both of her garage door motors. They both came together because of the load this idiot.”
“The funny thing is, even when the load drops and we don’t have electricity for nine hours with different stages, our electricity bills are the same,” he said angrily.
Dropping the load can be fatal
Senior advisor at the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) Janine Shamos told THey Citizen load shedding can have fatal consequences.
“It’s important to recognize that reducing the load has more than just a physical impact. We know that medically it’s a serious problem. I have an aunt who’s on oxygen, so if the power goes out, it’s really a matter of life and death if it goes on too long.
“People who have children or loved ones on medication that need to be cooled, all of those things are huge health concerns,” Shamos said.
Shamos said reducing the burden also stoked fears in a state with rising crime rates.
“The fear of living alone and suddenly you’re not protected at 3am because your alarm goes off, your gate doesn’t work anymore and you can’t find your way home.”
mental health
Shamos said there isn’t enough discussion about the mental health impact of burden reduction.
“It is a fearful situation. We feel that we cannot control it, because we cannot control it. We cannot control the electricity grid and the information that we are providing now.
“We are controlled by a system that cannot be trusted and it is also a big problem with people. In addition, we have a sense of loneliness and trust where we are, and the fear of ‘I will wake up in the dark and there is nothing we can do’,” said Shamos .
“Light for us is more than just light. It’s a sense of control, a sense of power, a sense of knowing where I’m going and being able to manage my day and control my place even though my place is small and not always to begin with,” added Shamos.
Shamos said reducing the burden may affect people who have never had a mental health problem.
“For people who generally don’t suffer from anxiety or depression or mood disorders, it can affect the way we see the world. When our view of the world and our lives changes, it can lead to feelings of worthlessness and helplessness and can lead to status your mental health.
Mitigating the impact of opening
Shamos said that in order to reduce the impact of reducing the burden on people’s mental well-being, South Africans must try and create an environment conducive to a sense of normalcy.
“We can almost learn to give up the light and the dark, use each other, talk about what you feel. What are your coping skills, what is your current stress, because we hide what we really feel and cover it with jokes and humor and we are stuck with ourselves and how how to deal with it.”
“But when you open up and admit that this is my real struggle, suddenly we realize that people are going through the same struggle, but they may have very different solutions or coping skills that may not work for us, but they always do. can be a springboard. to change the way we think about it,” Shamos suggested.
Endurance
Shamos added that South Africans need to start talking about the impact of load shedding.
“Start looking at the impact of reducing the burden in your life that is really eating and really negative in a way that works for you and your household. Ways to deal with it in a way that gives you back control, gives you time to relax and gives you time together to relieve that stress.
Both Blok and Shamos agree that South Africans have become resilient since Covid-19 and ease the burden of another storm by reaching out to others who have the solutions you are looking for.
He also urged parents to constantly comfort and entertain their children who may not be old enough to understand the technicalities of reducing the burden and impact on people’s lives.
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