Gospel heavyweight, Hlengiwe Mhlaba was on the verge of committing suicide as she witnessed her mother being physically abused by her father. The Dwala Lam hit-make says she is still haunted by the images of the physical abuse her mother endured at the hands of the man she loved.

SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

She says she has been quiet about the abuse all this time and dealt with the issue through singing, and entertaining her music fans. But what her music fans did not know was that she contemplated taking her own life as a way of dealing with her mental illness, and depression. "After realising that it was not worth killing myself, I decided to write a song about my mental illness, which was caused by my abusive father," said Hlengiwe. She also encourages everyone to deal with their mental issues rather than seeing suicide as a solution. Hlengiwe further said: "Seeing my mother crying every day, and our poor background is what led to me going straight into depression. I spent a lot of time unhappy and always criticising my life until I decided to go for therapy," she said.  

SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP

She says after being haunted by the dark thoughts, she decided to seek help. "The doctor told me that I was going through a severe mental breakdown and that is why everything that was happening around me didn’t make sense," she says. She adds that getting professional help helped her to come out of her shell and Isolation. "I was always angry at my family and I started to distance myself from people," As part of her healing process, Hlengiwe decided to team up with the Founder of Ungazibulali Foundation Nkululeko Khanyi to go around the country raising awareness about mental illness. This Friday, they will be hosting a Gala Dinner that will be held at Galleria in Sandton, and the main event is scheduled for Saturday where Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, HIV/Aids activist Criselda Kananda, traditional leaders, and relevant government structures will address the people attending the event.

REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE

She says being in partnership with the Ungazibulali Foundation is also part of the healing journey. She says hopefully, more and more people will come out of their dark spheres and realise that they are not alone. She also adds that using her platform and influence will help people who are going through depression to realise that they are not alone and depression does not class, race, age, and gender. "This is a good initiative as we are helping young and old people to stop taking an easy way out by taking their lives. "People must learn to open up so that we can be able to find solutions to every problem that people are going through. That is why we say "Ungazibulali", but open up to us so that we find a cure in whatever that you are going through," she said.