
<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong><em>WORDS By Chanel Retief <br>PHOTOS By Yeshiel Panchia</em></strong></p>



<p>TOPLINE: For the past two days, South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has met with leaders of political parties represented in the National Assembly. In his meeting, he told leaders that the government is intensifying its efforts and working in partnership with civil society to stem public violence affecting various parts of South Africa.</p>



<p>Key Facts</p>



<p>● South Africa has been mired in lawlessness and civil unrest since Saturday night following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. Though believed to be under the banner of #FreeZuma, Ramaphosa on Sunday told the nation that these were also “opportunistic acts of criminality”.</p>



<p>● According to a statement released by the presidency this afternoon, leaders of political parties have characterized the situation in the country as an attack on the democratic order. Furthermore, they believe that this unrest requires a multifaceted response in the long-term as it has already affected unemployment and poverty in South Africa.</p>



<p>● The riots have left businesses in disarray, either looted, vandalized, and/or destroyed across parts of<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1eDx6D_PEhXr9YIzIjWfw6ZXKFs_wiZ5D" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng province</a>s. </p>



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<p>● Ramaphosa on Monday in his address warned that if the unrest continued, the situation could lead to food insecurity as well as to an overwhelming of public health systems. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, some stores across South Africa witnessed long queues and empty shelves with disrupted supply chains. </p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The stockpiling has started. Long queues in grocery stores. It’s a mess! <a href="https://t.co/0EGzjwSwNV">pic.twitter.com/0EGzjwSwNV</a></p>&mdash; Nathi Ndamase (@nathi_ndamase) <a href="https://twitter.com/nathi_ndamase/status/1415260694761594884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>● This also includes some retail stores that specialize in selling medication, such as Clicks, which have been forced to close “some stores until further notice for the safety of our staff and customers”.</p>



<p>● “The looting and destruction of property are alarming,” said Busisiwe Mavuso, Chief Executive Officer of Business Leadership South Africa, in a statement. “This is inflicting further damage to the economy which is already at stretching point because of lockdown restrictions.”</p>



<p>● This has also affected the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in KZN and Gauteng as inoculations at some centers have had to be suspended due to the riots. “This will have lasting effects on our ability to consolidate some of the progress we were already witnessing in our economic recovery,” Ramaphosa said on Monday.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-photos">In Photos</h3>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-2-of-5-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51833" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-2-of-5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-2-of-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-2-of-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-2-of-5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-2-of-5-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>



<p>A young boy lies dead as his family mourns besides his body after he was allegedly shot by taxi association members supporting police in Vosloorus, Johannesburg, 14 July 2021. This was during the course of a conflict between the police, taxi association members and looters of a nearby mall. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-3-of-5-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51834" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-3-of-5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-3-of-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-3-of-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-3-of-5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-3-of-5-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>



<p>A shopping center stands completely looted and destroyed in Vosloorus, Johannesburg, 14 July 2021. Looters ravaged the center over the last few days, which saw three people killed. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-4-of-5-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51835" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-4-of-5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-4-of-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-4-of-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-4-of-5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-4-of-5-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>



<p>*Moande, a store owner, stands in front of his looted and destroyed shop in Chris Hani Mall in Vosloorus, Johannesburg, 14 July 2021. Over the last few days, his shop has been destroyed, his stock looted, and he stated that he will have to lay off the workers he previously employed as he closes down. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-5-of-5-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51836" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-5-of-5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-5-of-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-5-of-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-5-of-5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/14-July-2021-Forbes-5-of-5-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Taxi association members gather men they allegedly caught looting outside Chris Hani Mall in Vosloorus, Johannesburg, 14 July 2021. Many of the association members turned out to defend the malls, with at least one dead, attributed to their use of live weapons. Police did not interfere in any of their actions. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia</p>



<p><em><strong>This is a developing story and FORBES AFRICA will provide updates.</strong></em></p>


14 July 2021 Forbes (1 of 5)

Panic Buying, Political Meetings And The Pain Of Business

<p>Having suffered panic attacks for 10 years, Zane Wilson could have easily thrown her hands in despair. Instead, pain led to creativity. She formed a support group to help others face their deepest fears, and is today free of the painful episodes that traumatized her life.</p>
<p>Today, this support group, which started in the hallowed halls of the Sandton library in Johannesburg initially attended by a group of 80 people 20 years ago, is the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), founded by Wilson, a South African businesswoman.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29776 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/100_2074-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/100_2074-225x300.jpg 225w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/100_2074-300x400.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/100_2074-600x800.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/100_2074-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/100_2074.jpg 767w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></p>
<p>“I started the group and soon had to get a second phone, which rang night and day. I have had calls from people all over Africa looking for help. I have never had an attack since.”</p>
<p>Wilson’s first experience of a panic attack was on the highway, on her way to a business meeting.</p>
<p>“I suddenly felt hot. My palms started sweating. I started shaking and my heart started beating fast. I was terrified, but couldn’t understand why. I thought I was losing my mind,” recalls Wilson.</p>
<p>The attacks got worse, at times going up to three or more episodes a day.</p>
<p>“I was the director of a very busy company and had more and more attacks. I became acutely suicidal.”</p>
<p>She sought medical help, which included blood tests, assessments, even a lumbar puncture, and attended counselling, but they were all in vain. It got to a point where she couldn’t lead a normal life.</p>
<p>“I couldn’t even go to a shopping mall or a grocery store without an attack starting. I was determined to keep working and my husband had to follow me to work and I’d come back with staff. It reached a point where I couldn’t even be at home on my own. I would have to be dropped off at a neighbor’s. Eventually I was sent to a professor of psychiatry and he told me that I was suffering from panic attacks,” says Wilson.</p>
<p>This is a route most victims are familiar with. According to SADAG, South Africans will, on average, visit 11 doctors and spend over R20,000 ($1,800) on medical investigations before arriving at the diagnosis.</p>
<p>Recent research points to strong genetic or hereditary factors that might predispose some to paralyzing panic. Attacks can be triggered by non-biological factors too. Stressful experiences, caffeine, cold and flu medications, Lariam (the anti-malarial drug), appetite suppressants and local anaesthetics containing adrenaline may cause attacks that last an average of four to six minutes.</p>
<p>Clinical psychologist Lee-Ann Hartman says of all the disorders within the spectrum of anxiety and depression, panic attacks are the most treatable. With the right therapy, she claims 90% of people recover greatly and the remaining 10% can experience significant recovery.</p>
<p>“It’s very important to seek help early on, as once it starts developing, the sufferer will associate the panic attack with a certain place, person or situation. Mental illness as a whole is greatly underestimated and grossly under-resourced. In South Africa, one in 10 people suffer from HIV/Aids – whereas one in three people will experience mental illness at some point in their lives.</p>
<p>“People suffer in silence and among high-achieving women, there is always the fear it will be seen as a weakness.”</p>
<p>Hartman says that a panic attack is a false alarm set off by our innate ‘fight or flight’ instinct where a slew of hormones are released.</p>
<p>“When the fight or flight response happens in an appropriate situation, you don’t think about your trembling, increased heart rate&#8230; But when it comes out of the blue for no reason, your cognitive interpretation is ‘what is happening to me, am I having a heart attack’?”</p>
<p>She recommends a full medical to determine the underlying physiological – and psychological – factors.</p>


Tag: Panic Attacks

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Panic Buying, Political Meetings And The Pain Of Business

Don’t Hit The Panic Button,Yet