Diep City actress Nozuko Ntshangase talks about healing and childhood trauma

Diep City actress Nozuko Ntshangase opens up about the emotionally challenging week she’s had which led her to do some deep self-introspection. I’ve had an emotionally challenging week and as I was doing some self-work and journaling I realised that yo girl – why do you need external validation? Why do you not feel enough? I asked myself that question,” she says.

“I really wanted to get to the bottom of it, ukuthi, actually where does this come from and how can I heal that part of me that even when I’ve received external validation it still doesn’t fulfill my heart?

“I still don’t feel fulfilled and I’m like why do you not feel enough and why do you not receive compliments? Where does is this thing coming from?

And as I was trying to heal myself searching for videos that can sort of give me light I came across this video on shadow work. I’ve been trying to do shadow work for sometime and I hadn’t really went deep in understanding what actually is shadow work and how can I best use it?

Nozuko discovered that a part of her identity now is embedded in her childhood trauma.

“One of the exercises the lady in the video suggested is one of childhood trauma review. So part of your shadow self is made up of your childhood trauma. Other things form your shadow self. But part of it is patterns and mindsets that were developed from when you were a kid,” she explains.

This was also brought to her attention by a friend a few days ago.

“A few days back a friend of mine asked how was my childhood. I don’t really remember much of it but I don’t remember feeling good about myself. I don’t really remember feeling happy or fulfilled or feeling loved.

Actress Nozuko Ntshangase attempted suicide; 3 times

Nozuko Ntshangase has opened up about her suicide attempts. The Diep City actress recently made a YouTube video where she said she tried to take her own life three times.

She said on two occasions, she drank pills and on another paraffin.

She did not reveal much about what drove her to it but said on one occasion she’d lost a friend.

She said on another occasion, she was in a toxic relationship that made her depressed.

She revealed her family was not aware of her suicide attempts.

“I’m sharing this just in case there’s someone who needs it. I think I was depressed from adolescence but I don’t know for sure because I never went to a doctor to confirm this,” she said.

Nozuko said the first time she was 16 and took Allergex pills.

“I remember being drowsy and oversleeping but I never went to the hospital,” she said.

Nozuko said the second time, she was 17 and drank paraffin.

“I had just lost a friend and that morning, I fought with my mum. When she left for work, I drank it. I didn’t get sick and I thank God it didn’t damage my organs.

The third time I was 24 and drank Allergex again. I remember the person I was dating came to my place and got rid of the pills.

“We had a serious talk about it but things got worse and I was depressed because I was in a toxic relationship,” she said.

Nozuko shared some tips for dealing with depression.

“The first one is meditation as it’s about resetting your mind.

“The second one is keeping a journal. Write down your thoughts. It’s healing to see your emotions reflected back to you on paper.

“Thirdly, find out who you are and unlock your creativity and imagination. The last tip is to take action. Achieve your goals and walk the talk. This one needs a lot of discipline,” she said.