Nearly 15% of Vietnamese people suffer from mental disorders, women twice as many as men

This is the sharing of Mr. Bart Verheyen - Chairman of BeLuxCham Vietnam, Vietnam's economic and diplomatic advisor in the Kingdom of Belgium - on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Kingdom of Belgium and the upcoming ESG conference (application from international standards to practical implementation in Vietnam).

Mr. Bart Verheyen said one of the issues the conference focused on was mental health, while raising awareness and visibility about mental health, especially among working-age people.

Globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost each year due to depression and anxiety, costing $1 trillion a year in lost productivity.

In Vietnam, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health, about 15% of people suffer from mental disorders, of which depression and anxiety disorders are at the top.

In particular, women are twice as likely to suffer from mental health problems as men. However, up to 71% do not have access to mental health services and up to 90% of Vietnamese women choose to suffer silently without asking for help.

Besides, current psychological treatment often only involves medication, while other methods such as counseling or psychotherapy are not fully developed and are expensive compared to the income of Vietnamese people.

Therefore, according to Mr. Bart Verheyen, effective actions are needed to prevent mental health risks at work in particular and in life in general, thereby helping to protect, enhance and support workers' mental health.

Specifically, businesses are directed to organize seminars and talks by psychological experts on the topic of physical and mental health care for employees. At the same time, organize activities to support groups of employees who are having problems with mental health issues and can seek help from psychological experts.

According to research, when working-age adults work in a happy environment, it will bring better business results for the unit.

The Ministry of Health also recommends that people need to increase awareness of mental health to take care of themselves, their relatives and friends by recognizing and sharing their feelings, increasing physical activity, eating healthily, getting enough rest, and using drinks reasonably.

Stay connected to people around you, do the work you're good at, accept yourself for who you are, care about others, ask for help when you need it.