If you meet a lot of Cambodians, you will meet people with mental health problems. Cambodians call them chgoot. Some will be obvious to you. Others will appear normal, but Cambodians will tell you they are chgoot.

Some have genuine mental health problems, which are not diagnosed like they would be in a country with a good medical system. People just know they are chgoot.

Some don't technically have mental health problems, but their behaviour has become extreme, because Cambodians don't normally tell people when they do something not acceptable. They just avoid them. If they had been told by family and friends that their behaviour is extreme in the early days, some of them would have learnt, and been normal members of society.

Some people turn chgoot, as a result of no family support. Life is too difficult for them. I know of women who turned chgoot as a result of their husband dying. One of them used to walk around PP several years ago with no shirt, and her breasts exposed. Another one finished up dying a year after her husband was killed, leaving 5 beautiful children without parents.

There is a lot of drug use in Cambodia. This makes people chgoot.

Even consuming large amounts of alcohol for many years, severely dulls the brain.

January 18, 2021
‘Stop Hiding’ campaign to address the mental health impact of COVID-19
Sok Chan / Khmer Times

Raksa Koma Foundation and the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Cambodia, specialising in the field of mental health care and psychosocial support, launched a mental health awareness campaign named “Stop Hiding” on Saturday, to higlight the issue in the Kingdom.

Chea Serey, founder of the Raksa Koma Foundation and director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia, said the aim of the campaign is not only to promote awareness on the issue of mental health and provide appropriate services, but also to introduce a new culture of getting people to open up and talk about their mental health status and seek help.

“The message is simple: in a society where speaking about your state of mental health or your emotion is considered taboo, many keep the burden to themselves. Without help (from friends or professionals), stress can turn into depression and the world can get dark,” she said.

She added that the campaign is intended to break this taboo subject and encourage people to open up to their trusted friends or get professional help in the field by providing hotlines for a free consultation with trained therapists from TPO.

“To make our campaign more impactful we are also collaborating with the Cyclo Association, one of the most affected communities, whose members lost 90 percent of their income due to COVID-19. Our campaign will hire them as agents to spread the word,” Serey said.

She added that more and more Cambodians have mental issues with them losing their jobs and income as well as some being away from their family due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said they are faced with pressure not only mentally, but also physically and financially and this can require mental health and psychosocial support to resolve the problem.

Chhim Sotheara, executive director of TPO Cambodia, said more Cambodians are now seeking mental health services, as when they first started in 1995 there were about 4,000 Cambodians who sought help a year and now it has reached 10,000 people.

“‘The Stop Hiding’ campaign will create more awareness on mental health problems so that people going through mental health issues can come forward and seek help on time,” Sotheara said, adding that those who have been seeking their help ranged from age 20-to-50-years-old and now there are more elderly people coming forward.

Sotheara added that TPO and the Raksa Koma Foundation will roll out this campaign for three months in three designated provinces—Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50804346/s ... -covid-19/

Mental illness is a serious problem. Here in a Philippines country town I know several local people with schizophrenia. One is an army veteran and is well looked after but another woman is not so lucky.

Step 1: Acting crazy. Screaming nonsense, running around naked outside, throwing rocks, setting fire to her bed etc. Accepted for assessment.
Step 2: Getting to Manila. You can't use public transport with a crazy person so an ambulance is necessary - but the bread winner only earns $7.50/day as a construction worker (when it is not raining).
Step 3: Needs to be confined for a few days but my friend must stay with her. You want to go out for food? Sorry, YOU ARE LOCKED IN TOO! (you can't dump aunty and run away)
Step 4: Released with a script for antipsychotics. While not expensive by western standards, on $7.50/day? They are bought when absolutely necessary and relapses are common.

How can you fix it? Here, for now, you can't.
Large amounts of money - for buildings, staff, drugs - would do it but there are so many other urgent problems.

The family and community will continue to reluctantly muddle through.

big-cuck-RX-phårmå ft. mengel och dick-tåtårs.
meanwhile u little faggets33 in c.i.a pårn lab

Khmu Nation wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 9:06 am Depression isn't a mental illness. It's an emotional state. Schizophrenia, chronic OCD ain't nothing to fuck with. But feeling blue?

This is factually incorrect. 'Feeling blue', or melancholy, when things go wrong, is a normal part of life. But clinical depression is an illness often caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and is a recognised medical condition.

UNICEF Launches a New Campaign to Address Growing Mental Health Crisis in Cambodia
AKP Phnom Penh, June 15, 2022 --

UNICEF Cambodia today launched a new campaign called “I Feel Better When…” to raise awareness around mental health.

According to a news release from UNICEF, the campaign is funded by USAID Cambodia and was developed in collaboration with TPO Cambodia and the Child Helpline.

The campaign is informed by research showing that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already profound mental health crisis facing young people across the world, including in Cambodia. UNICEF’s State of the World report in 2021 found that more than 1 in 7 adolescents globally lives with a diagnosed mental disorder.

In Cambodia, UNICEF and partners’ Socio-Economic Impact Study found that 45 percent of surveyed adolescents worried about their safety during the pandemic, and 16 percent felt more anxious or depressed since the crisis began. In addition, a Joint Education Needs Assessment conducted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the Education Sector Working Group, and UNICEF found that 58 percent of secondary school students reported experiencing at least one mental health issue. The Joining Forces Alliance, a coalition of the six largest child rights international non-government organisations, confirmed the extent of the crisis this month and called for nationwide action.

As a result of such findings, UNICEF has made mental health one of its key global priorities as the world recovers from the pandemic.

“There was already a child mental health crisis but the pandemic has certainly made the situation worse,” said Anirban Chatterjee, Programme Deputy Representative at UNICEF Cambodia. “Schools closed, restrictions prevented positive social interactions, and families faced enormous socio-economic challenges, all of which negatively affected the mental health of children and young people. UNICEF is working to put this issue at the forefront of the COVID-19 recovery agenda. Improving mental health is going to require action at all levels of government and society, including young people. This campaign is designed to help them overcome stigma and give them much needed tools to prioritise their wellbeing.”
By Heng Panha
https://www.akp.gov.kh/post/detail/255937

RikuPontinen888 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 7:48 am
big-cuck-RX-phårmå ft. mengel och dick-tåtårs.
meanwhile u little faggets33 in c.i.a pårn lab

You certainly get my vote for "Most Likely To Be Featured On The Front Page of Khmer Times For Doing Something Weird".

side wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 4:32 pm

RikuPontinen888 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 7:48 am
big-cuck-RX-phårmå ft. mengel och dick-tåtårs.
meanwhile u little faggets33 in c.i.a pårn lab

You certainly get my vote for "Most Likely To Be Featured On The Front Page of Khmer Times For Doing Something Weird".

He already has his very own CEO News thread from way back in 2017:
Finnish Tourist Riku Pöntinen Arrested in Sihanoukville, Cambodia For Being a Violent Punk Rocker
newsworthy/finnish-tourist-riku-pontine ... 14016.html