Thais urged to check whether suffering from ‘New Year Blues’
Mental Health Department opens special website with questionnaire
The government is encouraging Thais to check whether they are suffering from post-vacation depression by visiting a website of the Public Health Ministry and answering a set of questions, a spokesman said on Sunday.
Karom Polpornklang, a deputy government spokesman, said the Mental Health Department of the Health Ministry estimated that many people might be suffering from depression after the long New Year holidays, the so-called New Year Blues.
As a result, the department opened a website, www.วัดใจ.com (WatJai.com), for Thais to undergo a mental-health assessment to see whether they are suffering from post-vacation depression to a potentially dangerous level.
If anyone completing the questionnaire were found to have a mental-health risk, officials from the department would call them to advise them how to receive treatment.
Karom said anyone feeling depressed or thinking they need help could call the hotline of the department at 1323 on around the clock.
He said the department also gave four points of advice on how to get over the New Year Blues:
- Talking openly to persons close to them
- Joining social activities such as exercises or group activities
- Setting tangible life goals
- Consulting psychologists
