With the entertainment industry being one of the highest-pressured industries with entertainers having to work long hours not forgetting the uncompromising demands of the entertainment industry being sighted as the main causes of depression and anxiety in showbiz – as a result of pressure, the industry has seen a spike in celebrity mental health issues, substance abuse and a high rise of deaths associated with depression recently.
It is against this background that Dr. Cino Shearer, founder of Cino Shearer Foundation, has decided to offer free psychological services to help celebrities dealing with mental issues.Dr Cino has developed a mobile assist that will travel around South Africa and some parts of Southern African regions offering free counselling to celebrities big and small.
” Studies show that entertainers are twice as likely to suffer from depression than the general public. Studies also show that many celebrities have moderate to severe anxiety. The vision came after noticing a rise in depression and anxiety among celebrities. Some have died dealing with mental health issues. This initiative will help celebrities live a better life,” says Dr. Cino.
The mobile assist, which is the first of its kind, will kick off during this festive season in Gauteng. It will then travel across the country before visiting Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The project will end in April 2020. The initiative is in partnership with different entertainment stakeholders across Africa. The mobile assist boasts private first-class facilities and highly skilled professionals.
The Cino Shearer Foundation believes that the mobile assist will also help raise awareness about mental health issues, suicide and substance abuse.
We had a chat with the good doctor to find out more about him and his work.
Out of all careers why psychology?
Psychology was the natural choice for me due to my nature inquiring mind.
What are some of the common problems entertainers face?
Entertainers face a myriad of the most common ones are loneliness and pressure from “ black tax “ overburdened, sounds trivial but it’s a harsh reality. Most communities think entertainers are sponges and this misconception most of the time becomes part of their extended families .
How important is it for people to take care of their mental health especially now going towards the festive season?
It is the responsibility of every individual to take care of their emotional , physiological without balance there is no quality of life . Balance is the order of service during festive season .
Can you share one of your success stories?
A victory for human kind was my convincing the Ugandan parliament not to pass the bill to sentence LGBTIQ people to death . It’s a small victory but it took a lot to change their mind sets to accept members of the LGBTIQ.
