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Mental Healthspan

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tagshealthmental-healthwellnessconferencetechsauce-2026

4 min read

NOTE

🇬🇧 English (AI-translated). Original in Thai: 🇹🇭 อ่านภาษาไทย

Speaker: Dr. Varoth Chotpitayasunondh
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health and Spokesperson for the Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health
Host: Woody Milintachinda, Founder and CEO of Woody World Co., Ltd.
Event: Techsauce Healthspan Festival 2026

Current Mental Health Situation

  • Globally, one billion people are experiencing mental health issues (14.8% of women, 13% of men = 1 in 7 people).
  • Only 1 in 10 depression patients receive appropriate treatment.
  • The global mental health budget stands at only 2%, with only 3.6% used for promotion and prevention.
  • Every 40 seconds, someone ends their life somewhere in the world, totaling about 700,000 people annually.
  • Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder reduce life expectancy by approximately 10-20 years.

Situation in Thailand

  • 13 million Thais face mental health problems at least once in their lives.
  • Every 2 hours, one person successfully commits suicide (about 5,200 people per year).
  • Suicide deaths are preventable deaths.

Concept of Mental Health Span

  • Having good mental health (subjective well-being) consists of 3 components: Optimism, Happiness, Life satisfaction.
  • Having these 3 things in good condition helps extend life by approximately 2.8-4.2 years after age 50.
  • “No health without mental health” - You cannot have good health without good mental health.

2-Dimensional View of Mental Health

  • Horizontal Axis: Ill - Not Ill (Psychiatric disorders).
  • Vertical Axis: High - Low Mental Well-Being (Mental health wellness).
  • People with good mental well-being may still fall ill when facing severe events, but they recover and bounce back better.

Stress and its Effects on the Body

  • Stress manifests differently in each individual: Emotional (anxiety, fear, loneliness), Cognitive (rumination, mental block), Behavioral (aggression, drinking), Physical (rapid heart rate).
  • Chronic stress affects cortisol, causing chronic inflammation in the body, which leads to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and accelerates cellular aging.
  • Stressed people often engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as overeating, insomnia, and lack of exercise.

Common Psychiatric Disorders

  • Depression: About 4% of the population - the most recognized and discussed nowadays.
  • Anxiety Disorders: About 5% of the global population - more prevalent than depression but often overlooked and untreated.
  • Bipolar Disorder: About 1%.
  • Schizophrenia: About 1%.
  • Burnout: Not yet classified as a medical disease, but severely impacts working life.

Mental Health Issues by Generation

  • Baby Boomers (60-80 years): Loneliness, being left alone, feeling worthless - the group with the highest suicide rate, facing Alzheimer’s and dementia.
  • Gen X: Issues transitioning to retirement, feeling unprepared, difficulty adapting to new technology, facing depression and mood issues.
  • Gen Y (Millennials): The “Sandwich Generation” dealing with both older and younger generations, career instability, anxiety over layoffs, lack of savings.
  • Gen Z: The “Lost Generation” from COVID-19, losing 2-3 years of social skill development, difficulty adapting to the workplace, experiencing Burnout and Boreout quickly, high rate of social comparison.
  • Gen Alpha (under 14 years): Growing up in an era where everything is ready but facing crises, high AI usage leading to anxiety about living in the real world, quite self-centered, risk of lacking critical thinking due to constant praise from AI.

5 Steps of Mental Self-Care

  1. Be Mindful of Yourself: Assess yourself regularly, knowing what normal and abnormal states look like.
  2. Track Yourself Regularly: Look in the mirror and talk to yourself, asking how you feel and think today, similar to weighing yourself before losing weight.
  3. Manage Problems Independently: Try basic problem-solving methods first, such as visiting www.sourphapjit.com or the Department of Mental Health’s TikTok.
  4. Seek Help from Those Around You: Asking for help is not a weakness; only the brave speak up.
  5. Consult Professionals: If support from those around you doesn’t help, see a psychiatrist or call the mental health hotline 1323 (free, 24 hours).

Important Mindsets and Attitudes

  • Growth Mindset: View obstacles as teachers rather than villains; use the word “yet” instead of “cannot,” e.g., “I cannot do it yet” instead of “I cannot do it.”
  • Grit: Angela Duckworth’s formula - Talent × Effort = Skill and Skill × Effort = Achievement, where Effort appears in both equations, showing that effort is most important.
  • Quote from Will Smith: “On the treadmill, there are only two outcomes: the other person gets off first, or I die. There is no option of me giving up.”

Phubbing - Behaviors to Avoid

  • Phubbing = Snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone, making the other person feel invisible.
  • Spend quality time with people around you, face them, make eye contact, talk, and give them importance.
  • Having people by your side and good relationships (Social Capital) is key to overcoming crises.
  • Phubbing is contagious - when one side starts playing with their phone, the other side follows because they feel ignored.

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