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The death of Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Jayden Adams has reignited a national conversation about mental health, with experts warning that even people who appear successful, resilient and accomplished can be silently battling emotional distress.
While the circumstances surrounding Adams’s death remain under police investigation and no official cause has been confirmed, counsellor Shannon Els said the tragedy has highlighted the urgent need to break the stigma around mental health and improve access to psychological support, particularly for young people and elite athletes.
Els spoke to the Sunday Times as South Africans grappled with the loss of the 25-year-old football star, whose body was discovered at a property in Military Road, Schotschekloof, Cape Town, on Saturday morning.
Western Cape police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk said police had opened an inquest after officers responded to the scene at about 11.06am.
Over the weekend, Adams’s father, Juanito, told News24 that the family was awaiting the post-mortem results and could neither confirm nor deny speculation about the cause of death. Attempts by the Sunday Times to reach him on Monday were unsuccessful.
Els said one of the greatest barriers to mental health care remains the stigma attached to seeking help.
“For a young person who is admired and relied upon, admitting to a struggle can feel identity-shattering. They fear being labelled as weak or becoming a burden to the people they love,” she said.
Outward success can mask profound internal struggles. Many people become experts at appearing strong while suffering in silence.
— Shannon Els, counsellor
She said people often assume that success in sport, academics or a career is a sign that someone is coping well.
“Outward success can mask profound internal struggles. Many people become experts at appearing strong while suffering in silence.”
The scale of the mental health treatment gap in South Africa remains alarming. According to the South African Society of Psychiatrists, an estimated 92% of people living with a mental illness never receive the treatment they need. For common conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance-use disorders, about three out of every four people do not receive care.
Mental health experts have also warned that elite athletes face unique psychological pressures. A 2023 study, Getting Psyched Up: Developing the Field of Sport and Exercise Psychiatry in South Africa, published in the National Library of Medicine, called for improved mental health literacy, routine mental health screening and better access to care for athletes, particularly during high-risk periods.
The study noted that while athletes are often celebrated as national heroes, they also contend with the pressures of elite competition, public scrutiny, demanding travel schedules and personal challenges.
“South Africans love their sport. We tend to idolise our athletes as national heroes … However, they are people first. They experience general personal stressors as well as the additional competitive and logistical pressures of being elite athletes.”
Els said encouraging young people to “just reach out” ignores how difficult it can be to ask for help.
“We tell young people to reach out, but we fail to realise how terrifying that hurdle actually is. Until we dismantle the idea that mental distress is a personal failure, and until we make seeking help as normal as treating a physical injury, our youth will continue to suffer in silence behind a wall of perceived shame,” she said.
She also pointed to the country’s severe shortage of accessible, affordable and culturally appropriate mental health care.
“For the vast majority of families, private psychological care is financially impossible, while public resources remain utterly overwhelmed. Navigating a mental health crisis is incredibly daunting, lonely and bureaucratically exhausting, even for those who do have the financial means.”
Els urged families, friends and colleagues to pay attention to changes in behaviour rather than relying on outward appearances.
“We need to look past surface compliance and ask deeper, more meaningful questions when we notice changes in someone’s usual behaviour. Genuine emotional wellbeing cannot be measured by how successful or composed someone appears.”
She added that South Africa also needs to invest more in emotional education.
“Emotional maturity is not an automatic consequence of getting older. It is something that must be learnt, developed and nurtured throughout life.”