By: Poelano Malema
‘Diep City’ star Nozuko Ntshangase has opened up about her struggles with depression.
The actor was speaking to Actor Space where she revealed that her struggle began after she moved to Johannesburg to pursue her dreams.
Ntshangase, who was raised by a single mother and struggled to complete her studies due to financial constraints, says what made her fall into depression was her financial struggles.
She says after securing an acting job on ‘Skeem Saam’, she had to financially support her family because her mom had lost her job.
“When I came here I took most of my salary and I sent it home. It was not a good idea. Financially, I did not understand a lot of things. Intellectually, there were still a lot of things I needed to learn around that. I messed up a lot financially, I made really bad decisions. I felt like everything that I learnt in high school was not a part of this,” she told the publication.
Apart from struggling financially, she also revealed that she battled to fit in within the entertainment industry and wouldn’t even go out with industry peers.
The star says she has been battling with depression ever since then and has learned to live with it.
“Right now I have learnt that it is a part of me and I cannot fight it anymore. At that time, I found Johannesburg to be very fast and I was acting and I didn’t understand what to do in the industry and it was about what the industry expects you to do and I felt like I did not fit into this industry.
“I did not want to do what everyone was doing in the industry. I did not want to attend those events. My friend would try to drag me out of the room to attend those events but it just pushed me into a dark whole of depression,” she said.
The star also revealed that she tried to commit suicide several times.
“I felt like I was not doing enough and I felt like I did not have direction or know what I was doing. So emotionally I got messed up and tried suicide a couple of times,” she told the publication.
The actress says that although she has dealt with a lot of challenges, coming to Johannesburg was worth it.
“I was not ready for Johannesburg, I didn’t know what Johannesburg was going to give me but I wanted to come here. It was worth it though.”
READ: Nobuhle Mahlasela: “I’ve been fighting depression and anxiety”
Image Courtesy of Instagram/ @Nozuko Ntshangase
