Why happiness remains elusive in South Africa

THE end of this month has arrived and we acknowledged that the month of October encouraged many of us to think about mental awareness, cancer and the girl child and food. The month alerted us to World Food Day; World Mental Health Day; and Breast Cancer Awareness Month amidst others.

- DR SHEETAL BHOOLA

The continual challenges of being a South African persist because of external influencing factors determined by our society and the continual deviance, escalating criminal activities at all sects of society and the political discord that has become a norm for South Africa. The recent World Mental Health Day was acknowledged but failed to inspire us to delve into why depression and suicide have been on the increase in South Africa. A safe environment has been identified as a key indicator of happiness, as well as access to basic resources such as water, electricity, food, education, and shelter.

The benchmark of what determines a happy life has shifted from personal happiness, good health, strong social connectivity, ethical values, a sense of purpose, and a financially comfortable life to extreme material wealth, regardless of how it is earned and at what cost. We lost ethical and highly valued individuals such as Babita Deokaran for whistle-blowing about one of the largest corruption syndicates at Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng.