Man smoking marijuana. | Courtesy

A mental health social worker has advised against drugs consumption for people going through traumatic situations, and encouraged them to focus on seeking help.

Neetah Babe, who is also a prominent singer, made the remarks as South Sudan marks Mental Health Awareness Month in May.

The social worker officially known as Annet Angaika – appeals to people suffering or recovering from mental disorders not to take drugs – saying the practice can only intensify the syndrome.

Angaika who founded The Neetah Foundation South Sudan, rather encourages the public to seek medical and psycho-social support.

“Whatever you are going through, please you have to talk to people about it, get someone to talk to, and express what you are going through,” Angaika said on the Sundown Show on Wednesday.

“You should also calm yourself down, because your health is more important than anything and of course take care of yourself. More importantly, avoid any kind of drugs it will cause you more damage,” she advised.

“It will never be a solution, it only gets things worst and of course get back to your daily routines instead of locking yourself inside.”

“Whatever you have been doing before, get back there and get to doing it, it is very important. Exercise more no matter the case and then seek help if it gets worst, go to a counselor”.

On his part, Nyatuk Emmanuel from Paranet Media calls on the people to speak out about their issues to get solutions.

“There is no shame in acknowledging that you are suffering, it will not make you any weaker,” she said.

“You will be the same person, you will be the muscular person you want to be but acknowledging that you are suffering is the beginning of getting better.”

“If you are really undergoing a tough period, you need to acknowledge and seek help. Let’s speak out to make ourselves better people”.

May is considered a Mental Health Awareness Month to raise alertness of and reduce the stigma surrounding behavioral health issues.

It also seeks to highlight the ways in which mental illness and addiction can affect everyone.

South Sudan has one of the largest mental health gaps in the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that during humanitarian emergencies, rates of mental health disorders can increase up to 4% for severe conditions and up to 20% for mild to moderate disorders requiring care and support.

South Sudan Health Cluster projections estimated that there are an estimated 204,000 people with severe and 1,020,000 people with mild to moderate mental health conditions in South Sudan.