"I sometimes feel like I'm worthless. I don't understand why I was born,” says Aon, a 15-year-old Thai boy. Aon has suffered from extreme stress for much of his young life, beginning with a disability that affects his ability to walk and causes fatigue, exacerbated by a difficult family situation that led to his mother leaving his father, and leading up to present day bullying at school over his sexual orientation. Aon says, that sometimes "it feels like no one really understands me."
Aon’s unhappiness and feelings of isolation led to him contacting Love Care Station, a digital support platform which was launched in 2015 by the Path2Health Foundation (P2H) with support from UNICEF. This is a comprehensive adolescent health platform, which offers advice and support on several health matters including, increasingly, mental health, in response to a growing crisis among young people in Thailand. In 2021, a study found that 11.3% of boys and 23.1% of girls at the age between 13-17 had attempted suicide at least once in the previous 12 months. Love Care Station is designed to support adolescents through challenging times, with interactive features such as a counseling chatroom, active referral mechanisms and tailored messages to target different groups.
Aon has felt different from others and alienated throughout much of his life, but these feelings became more serious when the bullying at school started, particularly focusing on his mannerisms and his sexuality. He became afraid that he would be physically attacked by the bullies and experienced intrusive thoughts of self-harm. This led to him distancing himself from his one close friend, because he felt that she was also included in the bullying. He also felt a lack of support from his mother, particularly when he suggested he should seek therapy and she dismissed the idea as “weird.”
It was during a spell of acute loneliness and desperation that Aon first contacted the Love Care Station team through its online platform and found their advice and support invaluable. He has contacted the team 30 times, whenever his feelings of despair are strong. The team listen to his problems and provide practical advice, as well as techniques to help him manage his emotions, such as being mindful and taking slow breaths.
The Love Care Station team has also provided him with information about mental health services so he can get the help he needs and helped him to obtain a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder that allowed him to understand his behaviour better. Following support from the team, he was able to better explain his situation to his mother, and she has since taken him to a psychiatrist and also helped him to start physical therapy to address his disability.
The Love Care Station is far from the only way in which UNICEF Thailand attempts to address the mental health challenges facing young people in the country. In 2021, UNICEF launched the Every Day is Mind Day campaign, collaborating with the Government's Department of Mental Health on a series of actions and activities, including the creation of mental health kits for young people themselves, and to support parents and teachers in helping these young people. In 2022, this evolved into The Safe Zone campaign, a series of videos and resources – including a specially -produced music video – designed to raise awareness of mental health and supporting young people to find their own "safe zone" where they can practice self-care.
As for Aon, he has come to see the Love Care Station chat room as his safe zone to help him whenever he is going through a difficult time and needs advice or encouragement. The team also helps him to focus on a brighter future. He is determined to achieve a financial stability that he hasn’t enjoyed so far in his life and is studying hard and working part time as a salesman to earn income. This has brought him happiness, and he is now considering a future as a YouTuber or actor and has begun to audition for roles. When Aon feels overwhelmed, he contacts Love Care Station and this can greatly reduce his stress.
As Aon wrote to a Love Care Station team member after one chat session: “I feel so much relief knowing I have someone to talk to like a friend, and so I can get advice on difficult situations. It's really helping me feel better.”
* Names have been changed to protect young people's privacy.
