indwe magazine – April 2005

Sam Phasha
A Passion for Life
Text: Thabang Weeto
Image: © L’Esprit Photo
He is young, handsome and charismatic, and looking more like movie star than a successful corporate executive, Sam Phasha has a passion for life and a drive to help those less fortunate. Thabang Weeto went to meet this dynamic spokesperson of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), South Africa’s foremost advocacy group on mental health.
Sam Phasha is the kind of person who burns the candle from both ends. Employed as a senior manager with the Altana Meduls pharmaceutical company, he still finds time to serve on the board of directors of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), spending a great deal of his free time as a spokesperson for SADAG, something he does for the greater good of the cause, at no compensation for his time and effort.
“I have been blessed with a good upbringing, a close family, a good education, and good health, so working with SADAG is my way giving back to the community that with which I have been blessed,” Sam explains his selfless efforts.
A product of the Max Stibe School in Pretoria, Sam matriculated from the SA College, and completed his degree in medical laboratory sciences at Nelson Mandela University of Technology in Port Elizabeth. Joining the Lund Beck pharmaceutical company in 1999, Sam was first exposed to SADAG through fundraising initiatives that were held within the Lund Beck Company. Given his interest in medical sciences, he decided to devote more of his time to the SADAG cause.
Since then he has led numerous nationwide campaigns for SADAG, including radio campaigns in all the indigenous languages, and several appearances on television talk shows with Felicia Mabuza-Suttle and Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu.
SADAG was founded in 1995, and since then have helped more than 30,000 people through their toll free help lines, online support groups, school talks and outreach programmes. The group aims to educate, destigmatise and create awareness about depressive disorders in a campaign aimed at all ethnic groups in South Africa.
Depressive disorders are a common occurrence, and approximately 10 percent of the population suffer from serious depressive episodes. Contributing factors include physiological, psychological, and social factors, and depression is often caused by a combination of factors and not just a single factor.
Sam stresses the importance of distinguishing between clinical depression and reactive depression. “Stressful life events, like the loss of a loved one, illness, or financial worries, can cause reactive depression. Although this is a normal reaction to abnormal personal circumstances, reactive depression can become just as debilitating if it persists over a long period of time, and if the symptoms persist for a long period of time, these individuals should seek professional help,” Sam explains.
Sam indicates that although most depressed people are not suicidal, most suicidal people are depressed. “In South Africa, research has indicated that one in five teens thinks about suicide, with 7.8% of these youths having attempted suicide before, while 57.7% of the sample had told someone of their intentions to end their lives,” reveals Sam.
“Suicidal tendencies in adolescents are often misunderstood as ‘attention-seeking.’ Some parents dismiss suicide threats as manipulative tactics or immaturity. However, any suicidal threat should be taken seriously, and that is why education about suicide can be life saving,” Sam warns.
Statistics suggest that only one in ten children who make suicidal threats will carry them out, but there is no indication as to which children will add the deed to the word, or under what circumstances these threats may actually lead to a suicide attempt. As a child gets older, suicide attempts become increasingly serious and more likely to succeed.
It is rare for children to discuss their suicidal thoughts with others. In those children who do not verbalise their self-destructive thoughts, suicidal tendencies are best recognised by noticeable mood and behavioural changes that can be observed by family and friends. Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are often the best indicators of children in risk of suicide.
The world’s third biggest killer of adults – depression/suicide – runs riot among HIV infected individuals, and HIV/Aids patients are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than the social norm. “HIV/Aids is closely linked with most major psychiatric disorders, both directly in that it attacks the central nervous system, and in the less obvious but more difficult attacks on emotional well-being and psychological stability,” Sam explains.
Insurance companies that still discriminate against patients diag-nosed with depressive disorder poses a major problem. “Some medical aid schemes do not even recognise depressive disorder as a disease. Therefore SADAG aims to alter the stigma associated with depressive dis-orders through awareness campaigns and education strategies,” Sam sketches the uphill battle that SADAG faces on a daily basis.
More challenges are on Sam’s horizon. First he would like to complete his marketing degree at the Institute for Marketing Management, and then he would like to get into talk radio. In the mean time he continues to make his presence felt in the corporate environment. But whatever is next on Sam’s agenda, you can count on him doing it with great passion!
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