Summary

Dr Ilongo Fritz Ngale is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology and Guidance and Counselling with the University of Eswatini. His research interests include; philosophies of education, workplace bullying, dispute management and conflict resolution, gender-based violence, and African counselling approaches.

Epilogue
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a major catalyst for the renewed interest in mental health issues. For a long time and in many societies around the world, health was only examined from the point of view of bodily health. The pandemic has brought about additional stress and anxiety as we were (and are still) dealing with matters of survival, personal survival but also survival of our family, friends, and neighbours.

I like the fact that after defining what mental health and wellness are and indicating some of the major symptoms of mental disease and un-wellness (Chapter 1), the author went on to examine such negative factors as stress and its different sources (physical and environmental, psychosocial, professional — workplace – and societal) in Chapter 2 and a detailed discussion of related symptoms like, for example, insomnia and eating disorders in Chapter 3. In the second part of this wonderfully detailed book, Dr. Ilongo Fritz Ngale delves into strategies for positive mental health development and growth. This is really where essential information, including tips and tricks, is given. In the fourth chapter, the author looks at eustress (or positive stress) and how we can adapt our behaviour and our thinking patterns to enhance such. The fifth chapter describes psychosocial and social wellness in the form of a positive self, high emotional intelligence, high adversity quotient, social skills development and social network construction, among others. In the final chapter of this exciting discussion, the author focuses on workplace wellness and proposes a useful template for the design and development of a workplace wellness programme.

All in all, I recommend this book for both individuals and organisations/employers dealing with stressful situations in daily life. One of the highly negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic is its impact on mental health: for those suffering from Long Covid, the impact of the coronavirus on the mind has not yet fully been understood, and for those living through the pandemic — that is basically all of us — this book offers some form of relief, namely that if we work on our mental health and continue to build resilience through the proposed strategies, we can mitigate some of the pandemic’s negative backlashes.

Prof Karen Ferreira-Meyers Institute of Distance Education University of Eswatini
Apollo Printers