Reigning Miss South Africa Shudufhadzo Musida is launching an online mental health initiative, #MindfulMondays.
The Venda beauty announced she would be focusing on raising awareness around mental health when she took the Miss SA crown in October last year. She will use her social media influence to speak to various experts about matters related to mental health.
The dialogues will take place on her Instagram page on Monday evenings at 7pm.
On the first episode, which will take place on February 8, Musida will be joined by clinical psychologist and South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) board member Zamo Mbele to discuss different mental illnesses and mental health statistics in South Africa.
On February 15, the main topic will be teenage depression to mark Teen Suicide Prevention Week. Her guest will be GP and social media influencer Dr Sindi van Zyl, who will talk about the causes and symptoms of teen depression and how boys and girls are affected differently.
As time goes one, Musida will also tackle issues such as bullying, something she suffered as a child.
“The bullying happened when I moved to a new school. Before the age of nine, I was a bubbly little girl, but then people found it okay to bring me down at a time when I was only trying to discover myself. The ramifications were enormous.”
She said as the bullying continued, she started dressing like a boy.
“It got to the point where I thought if I covered up and didn’t draw too much attention to myself, maybe it would stop. I developed low self-esteem, and it took me a long time to realise that it was never about me, but about the people who were doing the bullying.”
Musida revealed there was another project close to her heart which she would launch in March.