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Subashni Naidoo
Reporter
The Sunday Times
Durban, South Africa

TOPIC: Write a series of articles on the lack of mental health workers and state of the community mental health system in South Africa.

White Male Suicides on the Rise
Suicide experts are warning that the current economic turmoil is driving an increasing number of white men to severe depression and suicide. The SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) reports a marked increase in volumes of distress calls, particularly white men aged between 40 and 50 who are considering taking their lives.

Indian Men Driven to Depression
Pressure to maintain their wealthy lifestyles in tough economic times, and failed marriages, are driving a growing number of Indian men to depression. Experts say the condition - long considered a female disorder - is affecting one in five Indian men.

Stressed-out South African doctors are turning to sex, drugs, and alcohol to deal with the demands of their jobs.

Tami Langa had an average job, a normal family, and lived in a modest house in one of Durban's townships - until he experimented with a new highly addictive drug called whoonga.

The roll-out of the government's multibillion-rand anti-retroviral (ARV) programme is under threat from syndicates that are stealing the ingredients for a deadly new drug.

Men in rural KwaZulu-Natal are still reluctant to disclose their HIV status, fearing public ridicule and rejection.

"Statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off," wrote Paul Brodeur in Outrageous Misconduct. With this week's release of the national crime stats showing a decrease in murders, but an increase in sexual offenses, Subashni Naidoo asked rights groups to interrogate the numbers

As many as half of South Africa's gifted children are being incorrectly diagnosed and treated for serious behavioural and emotional disorders.

As many as half of South Africa's gifted children are being incorrectly diagnosed and treated for serious behavioural and emotional disorders.

Prejudice and discrimination can make you sick - literally. New research in KwaZulu-Natal revealed this week that people who suffered under apartheid were more likely to also suffer from diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

South African children "bombarded" daily by crime stories are having to seek treatment for anxiety.