In South Africa, unemployment is not just an economic issue , it is also a mental health issue. For many young people, the struggle to find work slowly changes how we see ourselves, our worth, and our future.
I am 26 years old, turning 27 this July. Since I finished matric, I have never had a stable job. I passed with a Bachelor’s pass, and like many young people, I believed that was the beginning of a better life.
I thought university would be my next step, but I was never accepted.
Life did not go the way I planned, or the way my mother had hoped.
Since then, my life has been filled with short contracts and piece jobs that come and go. Today, I am still unemployed. I sell goods on the streets just to make ends meet. Without that, I have no income at all. I am the sole breadwinner in my home. That responsibility carries a lot of pressure.
Unemployment does not only affect your wallet — it affects your mind.
When you keep trying but fail to find opportunities, you start questioning yourself. You wonder where you went wrong. Sometimes I see my peers building their careers and living the lives we once dreamed about. In those moments, I cannot help but ask myself what happened to my path.
The hardest moments are the quiet ones, when I sit alone in my room. That is when everything comes at once—the stress, the fear, the self-doubt, and unanswered questions.
It is also when reality hits the hardest—when you need help but there is nowhere to turn.
People often say, “Ask and you will receive.”
But in this generation, everyone is trying to survive.
Life is expensive, and many people are struggling to take care of themselves. Because of that, many of us carry our pain silently.
There were times when I felt completely overwhelmed and no one knew. Even something as small as not having money to print CVs or pay for transportation to attend an interview can break your spirit. These small obstacles slowly build into a mountain of frustration.
Through all of this, my Aunt Joey and her husband have supported me when they could. Their support has played an important role in my life, reminding me that even in the difficult times, there are still people who care.
But the emotional weight of unemployment can still be overwhelming.
Passing matric and still not having a job sometimes makes me feel like a failure. What hurts even more is seeing people who did not perform as well in school doing better today. It can make you feel like all the years of hard work meant nothing.
There were days when I felt stuck in what I call a “dark room,” a place in my mind where no matter how hard I tried I could not find the light.
Yet every morning, I still wake up.
I wake up because my mother and my brother need to eat at the end of the day. I wake up because giving up would mean leaving them without support.
Even when things feel impossible, I continue chasing opportunities, hoping that one day something will change.
My dream is not to become rich. My dream is simply to live a comfortable life—a life where my family does not have to worry about basic needs. I want my mother to experience that comfort in her lifetime.
She has prayed for me for many years, and I still believe those prayers will be answered.
When I say I want to be free, I mean something deeper. I want to be free from depression, anxiety, and panic.
There was a time when I experienced a panic attack and struggled to breathe. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, yet I never told anyone about it.
Sometimes speaking about my struggles feels like complaining, so I choose silence and hope that everything will eventually work out. Writing about my experiences reminds me that these experiences are real and they matter. Unemployment can push young people into difficult emotional spaces, and if we are not careful, it can lead us to make desperate decisions. When survival becomes the priority, people feel forced into choices they never imagined.
That is why we need to talk about mental health alongside unemployment. Our generation is under immense pressure, and many young people are silently carrying heavy emotional burdens while trying to survive.
Despite everything, I still have hope.
Hope that one day I will find the opportunity that changes my life.
Hope that my hard work and resilience will eventually lead somewhere better.
Hope that my family will live the comfortable life we dream about.
Until that day comes, I will continue to wake up every morning and keep trying.
Because taking care of your mind is the first step to rebuilding your life.
“A strong mind can survive even the hardest seasons. When your mental health is protected, your future can still grow.”
In this blog, Venesa shares her experience of panic attacks linked to stress and the pressures of unemployment. If you or someone you know is going through something similar, support is available. You can learn more about panic and ways to manage it here.
Author: Venesa Modise
