Unemployment is a major cause of concern for
any society economically, and now psychologists are warning that stress over
not being able to find work is becoming a major cause of mental illness among
young people.
Speaking at an event to mark Youth Mental
Health Day at the Royal University of Phnom Penh on Friday, Kao Sovandara, a
psychology lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), said that
based on research he conducted in 2014, unemployment or anxiety over choosing
the wrong career are now a major cause of mental health problems among students
at the university.
“Based on my research in 2014 on students at
RUPP, 62% had some kind of psychological problem. The two major problem areas
were relationships and unemployment,” Mr. Sovandara said, adding that
unemployment remains a leading cause of mental illness among the young.
“Unemployment causes a feeling of
helplessness. People are worried about whether they will get a job or not,” he
said.
Unemployment is one of the many social issues
that frequently lead to mental illness. Mr. Sovandara explained that mental
illness results from pressures imposed by the living environment as well as
social issues.
“They are worried that they don’t have a job
or they see someone else get a job while they cannot; these are the main
factors in mental illness related to unemployment,” Mr. Sovandara explained.
Yim Sobotra, a psychiatrist at SMC mental
clinic, said that mental problems caused by unemployment are a concern in every
country in ASEAN, and not only in Cambodia. The problem mostly affects the
young. Some patients develop a problem when they are young and continue
suffering into later years.
“Not only in Cambodia, but also throughout
ASEAN, when young people lose their jobs they get depressed, grow disappointed,
and sometimes they blame themselves for taking the wrong job,” he said.
“It can lead to depression and even suicide
when they hide themselves at home for a long time and can’t find a job, while
their friends are already working,” he added.
Counseling is advised for young people who
face mental illness due to unemployment.
Finding
Yourself
For people who are uncertain about where
their strengths lie, it is easy to take the wrong career path. Finding out
early what their interests are helps youth choose the right path so they will
get more motivation to keep moving forward, even when they fail.
Men Sokhan, a counselor at the Transcultural
Psychosocial Organization Cambodia, said that identifying their strengths helps
youth plan their lives better. He spoke about cases where students had chosen
the wrong major to study, one that didn’t reflect their talents and interests.
The organization has provided counseling services to the public in Cambodia for
more than 16 years.
“You have to think about what you like, what
kind of temperament you have, and what your talents are in order to find your
strengths,” he said.
“If
you know that you are short tempered, you can use this knowledge to prepare
yourself to participate in society,” he explained.
This was the fourth year that Youth Mental
Health Day events have been held to raise awareness about mental health issues
among students at RUPP and the general public. This year more than 2,000 people
attended.
The event aims to introduce students to the
symptoms of mental illness and to raise awareness of the availability of
psychiatric counseling services with help from 16 mental health organizations
in the Kingdom.
“Now I
can see that students understand more about mental health; the number of
students visiting consultation rooms at the Psychology Department is
increasing,” Mr. Sovandara said.
“Students who move from the provinces are
vulnerable to mental illness since they are under pressure to adapt to
different social and living environments,” he said.
According to Mr. Sovandara, 500 students
sought advice at the department in 2015.
Va Sonyka
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