Mental problems among Vietnamese teenagers

According to a recent survey, 19,46% of Vietnamese teenagers are having mental problems. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese people and even the doctors have very little knowledge and experience about mental illness in young people.

Dr. Ngo Thanh Hoi – from Mai Huong Mental Clinic – tell us that in recent years, more and more problems about mental health, such as stress, anxiety, obsession, depression ..., have appeared in the high schools. According to Dr Hoi, young students are unconsciously put into situations that requires their independences and they also have to face a lot of negative effects of the rapidly developing economics, while they are not psychologically prepared.

In each school, there is always a ratio of students that are suffering mental illness. Accordingly, 15.94% of Vietnamese students have various types of mental disorders. Drug abuse is also increasing among teenagers and 10% of all suicide cases in Vietnam happen to people that are 10-17 years old.

A research with nearly 22000 teenagers in Hanoi shows that 3.7% of them have attention deficit disorder. A survey about mental health of teenagers in Hanoi by the SDQ program of WHO also shows that 19.46% of 1200 teenagers are having mental problems. There is no difference between genders, locations and family backgrounds.

The problems related to intelligence development and mental disorders such as anxiety, attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder, autism, asperger, substance abuse, eating disorder ... are the proofs that many Vietnamese students are having mental problems.

The reasons for these problems are very complicated and some are still unknown to modern medical knowledge, according to Dr Hoi.

There is a theory about a sudden change in human physiology that plays an important role in the development of these mental problems. Medication and psychological remedies can abide the symptoms.

The mental disorders like anxiety, depression reduce dramatically the development and concentration of student. These mental illnesses also cause difficulty to their social life and can lead to serious mental diseases in the future. Getting diagnosed early will prevent efficiently the bad consequences in the future.

Over 50% of the population of Vietnam are teenagers. However, the knowledge of many people about how to take care of the mental health of teenagers is still very limited.