Damaged mental health — the secret symptom of COVID-19

Despite the low number of COVID-19 cases in Cambodia, there’s still one virus-related symptom that thousands are experiencing: damaged mental health. After all, the economic harm caused by the pandemic has been enormous, with 150,000 losing jobs. When you add fears over catching the virus, and many people’s decision to limit social activity, it isn’t surprising anxiety and depression have risen. Another fast-rising problem is addiction, as many people turn increasingly to alcohol or drugs to ease distress.

The government deserves congratulations on recognising the emergency. On July 20, the Ministry of Health issued guidelines to help people look after their mental health, encouraging people to be mindful of how they are feeling, to be courageous in speaking about it and to seek counselling and treatment if things become serious. These are very welcome recommendations in a country where there remain deep taboos around discussing mental health.

Unfortunately, it’s at this very moment of need that many mental health services in Cambodia have closed or reduced services. Sometimes this has been because of financial challenges, sometimes because the majority of foreign staff returned to their home countries. That’s why in April, The Beekeeper — a new mental health and wellness centre in central Phnom Penh — decided to press ahead with our May opening despite the escalating global panic. Many thought it was foolish to open a new social enterprise at a time when hundreds of businesses were closing, but we felt the time was perfect. We were needed.

It helped that our team is majority Cambodian, including trained therapists and psychologists with expertise in addiction, trauma and child-focused services. We’d always intended to reach mostly Khmers, so foreigners returning home was not problematic. Because we are a social enterprise, we subsidise treatment for clients with limited funds, not wanting money to be a barrier. Given the number of Cambodians who’ve already come to us, many experiencing increased distress in these times, we know we made the right choice.

Not all people experiencing mental health problems will want to come to a mental health professional, of course, or necessarily need to. Hoeur Sethul, president of the Cambodia Association for Counsellors and Psychologists, recently welcomed the Government’s guidelines. He also said existing traditional support structures could be invaluable: “Family members or community members can provide each other with support and take
care of each other as well as learn to observe if anyone in the community or family encounters mental disorder,” he noted.

He did express concerns, however, about those whose mental health needs are greater, observing that as a developing country there has been limited investment in professional psychological and therapeutic services in Cambodia. “Unlike mathematics, the investment doesn’t translate into a tangible result,” Sethul explained. “Sometimes, only experts can see how huge the impact of mental health crisis can be on a society.”

For our part, we will support as many people as we can. Some may not want therapy but can still soothe anxiety through yoga, meditation, tai chi or sound healing. Many Cambodians know this already, of course, although we offer classes to those keen to discover. Sadly some people’s needs may be too great for even regular therapy and, as a result, we have just opened Beekeeper House, a residential recovery and rehabilitation centre for those trying to overcome the biggest challenges, such as extreme trauma or addiction.

Most of all, we hope to break the taboo on talking about mental health. The very act of talking can sometimes ease mental pain — and knowing others experience it too can be a considerable comfort. It’s the first step in finding the right support, whether that’s a conversation with a friend or professional help. To encourage this national conversation we’ve started a series of articles on social media, hashtagged #LetsTalkMentalHealthKH. This pandemic has been a calamity, but if it gets Cambodians talking about good mental health, that might be one small ray of hope.

The authors are Socheat Soy, Rasmey Dy and Robert Common, three trained mental health professionals and the founders of The Beekeeper. This piece originally appeared in Khmer Times here.