Mental health woes common
About six in every 100 Thais suffer a form of mental disorder, according to Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnveerakul. As many as 600,000 of those are chronic sufferers.
Anuthin told a seminar yesterday marking Srithanya Psychiatric Hospital's 65th anniversary a recent World Health report claimed a quarter of the world's population had mental health problems at some time in their lives, while 35 to 45 per cent of work absences resulted from mental health problems. He said the WHO also predicted that within 14 years, economic and social losses from depression and similar disorders would be severe, ranking second only to heart and blood diseases. In Thailand, about 1 per cent of the population, or 600,000 people, was estimated to be mentally ill. A further 5 per cent suffered from depression and depressive episodes, Anuthin said. Society continued to misunderstand the mentally ill. Many perceived sufferers as untreatable and dangerous to others. This led to a lack of social acceptance and job opportunities, as well as alienation that sometimes worsened their condition, Anuthin said. To help them return to normal family and social lives, the ministry has developed rehabilitation programmes to compliment treatment and therapy, Anuthin said. This helped patients to care for themselves and work, gaining acceptance from their families, communities and society. Srithanya Psychiatric Hospital director Kiarttiphum Wongrajit said last year the hospital received an average of 500 out-patients a day with about 200 of those collecting prescriptions. The hospital had put 568,910 psychiatric patients through rehabilitation, including 299,909 who underwent social rehabilitation and 179,164 who completed vocational courses, he said. Duangkamon Sajirawattanakul The Nation
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