Stressed on millions of Vietnamese mentally ill

By Minh Nga & nbspavril 7, 2019 | 20:01 GMT + 7

High school students are waiting for their exam at a school in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2019. Photo by VnExpress / Quynh Tran

At a conference hosted by the National Institute of Mental Health in Vietnam this week in Hanoi, the ministry said that mental disorders related to stress had increased sharply in recent years.

From 15 to 20 years ago, the institute received one or two patients requiring treatment for psychological disorders and mental stress a day, it now receives about 300 a day.

Duong Minh Tam, head of the department of stress disorders at the institute, said that these problems mainly concerned young people, more women than men.

Many young people were admitted to the institute for being physically damaged due to school stress and at home, he said.

The doctors at the institute said that most patients and their families were unaware of their illness for a long time, which prevented a quick treatment and worsened the situation.

Last February, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released a study that shows that mental health and psychosocial problems are widespread and growing in Vietnam, especially among children and young people. Despite some progress, the service environment and response remain largely inadequate. .

The lack of mental health services is particularly acute in isolated provinces and is unable to prevent suicide and treat mental disorders, which are often at the heart of ideas and suicide attempts.

He added that even when mental health and psychosocial services were provided by social welfare centers, mental health hospitals and psychosocial units in schools, their quality and coverage was limited and often focused more on serious disorders.