By Zane Wilson
I am incredibly honoured and proud to be the Founder of SADAG, I would have never imagined that my journey to finding help for my severe Panic Attacks would have resulted in the start of an organisation that is now about to celebrate its 30th year. It is a great milestone and achievement. I could have not done this alone, and I am grateful to every person and donor or sponsor for the support SADAG has received from day one.
I lived through undiagnosed Panic Disorder for more than 10 years. For anyone who has experienced it, you would understand how suffering Panic Attacks can be both terrifying and debilitating. In my case, the Panic Attacks became more and more frequent from two or three per week to more than that per day! The sweaty palms, chills and shakes got so bad that I could be in the middle of shopping and would have to drop the food basket and run out the supermarket. It eventually had taken over my life, where I could no longer drive on my own or even stay at home alone.
At the same time, I was holding down a very responsible job as a Director of an Information company working up to 12 hours a day and throughout this time, I was on a never ending search from one medical professional to another, to not only diagnose my condition, but also to treat – sadly without success.
Then fortunately I was referred to Prof Michael Berk, the head of Psychiatry at Wits Medical School at that time, who knew exactly what was wrong and even more importantly knew how to treat it. In a matter of weeks my life changed dramatically for the better, and I never looked back.
I set up the tiny Panic Disorder Support Group, inviting people to join us at the Sandton Library and we had such a great turnout, that included people from as far as Witbank and Siyabuswa. Fast forward to present day SADAG, and we have grown from those early days into Africa’s largest Mental Health NGO, and we continue to grow with the help, support and dedication of many.
Anyone can get Panic Attacks, but we need to ensure that they know that they are not alone and there is help through therapy, medication, Support Groups and learning self-help techniques. We also need to reassure everyone that SADAG is there on our many Helplines and WhatsApp Chatlines, with caring trained counsellors that will be there to provide resources and share self-help suggestions.
Finally, I would like to share my heartfelt gratitude to our over 200 counsellors that volunteer at SADAG to make sure that every person that reaches out to us is helped, your hard work and dedication does not go unappreciated.
