Living with mental illness in Saigon, Vietnam

You may want to contact some of the better hospitals like FV and Colombia and ask if you can get it. I see it's listed on some medical pages here in Vietnamese, but not sure where you can buy it.

Abilify

spunkyfunk42 wrote:

Hello- I was wondering what you guys' experience was with getting accommodations and medication for severe mental illness in Vietnam. I have Bipolar disorder and am looking to move to Vietnam as an English teacher this upcoming school year. I am on Abilify (mood stabilizer/ anti-psychotic) and cannot live without my meds. I cannot get a years supply of medication from my doctor. Do you have any experience with this? Can I get my meds in Vietnam? I have lived in Saigon before so I am familiar with the area- but that was before my diagnoses and symptoms started to occur so I am unsure
Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions or if you think it is even a possibility that I can move there.
Thank you!!

SEVERE mental illness?

One of two things is true:

If this is the way a medical professional has classified your diagnosis, then Vietnam will not be accepting of you with your condition, as medication is probably not normalizing you, but only allowing you some degree of management of symptoms and signs.

This is definitely not the land of medical confidentiality.

You will be "found out" and you'll be the foreigner who doesn't belong, especially not teaching the children of this nation.

You will receive NO "accommodations" here whatsoever.

That's not my judgement.

It's the cold hard truth.

However, perhaps it's the second truth:

Your use of the word "severe" is your own personal embellishment of your condition, used to encourage a deeper level of sympathy and compassion.

It's a common behavior among those mentally Ill people who wish not to be held fully accountable for their actions, because after all, their condition is so "severe" they can't help themselves.

If you read this as an attack on you, don't.

I'm saying, whichever of those things is true, Vietnam is not the place where you can escape AND work.

I truly do wish you well.

I just hope you won't end up being another social refugee who ends up in mental health crisis in a host nation without much compassion for your handicap and the demons they believe would be accompanying you.

Assuming that you can get your medication in Sai Gon, then there's nothing to stop you from giving it a shot and seeing how things work out. You have to contact the schools to apply. Actually, most English teachers are employed by language schools, which are busiest during the summer, rather than actual schools. It depends on your qualifications though.

See this site for job ads/more info: https://vietnamteachingjobs.com

Some complications:

- Currently, schools are closed until further notice.

- Sai Gon can be a rather stressful place to live. There are teaching opportunities in other cities.

- Teaching in VN mostly involves keeping large classes of kids or teens entertained, which can be quite stressful.

Another thing you should look into is online teaching, which theoretically, you can do anywhere. Unfortunately, VN's lapses in electricity and internet connectivity can make this challenging as well. Also, you don't have the social interaction that you get when working in a school.

http://www.goodairlanguage.com

spunkyfunk42 wrote:

I am on Abilify (mood stabilizer/ anti-psychotic) and cannot live without my meds. I cannot get a years supply of medication from my doctor.

First, find a different doctor. Mine has no problem writing 12 month prescriptions for "maintenance" medications that he knows I need. Your insurance company may balk at paying for them, though.

Second, NEVER divulge any information about your condition to ANY government or employer. If your medication keeps everything under control, then it doesn't matter. If it DOESN'T keep it under control, they'll figure it out soon enough. Don't give them an excuse to scrutinize you because they have no understanding of mental health.

Third, if you get insurance through your employer, then you should pay for your own mental health doctor and meds. Remember that your employer has access to your medical records through the insurance company because you (more than likely) signed a HIPAA release as part of a pre-employment medical screening. Be aware of computerized records. Even if you pay on your own for mental health, if you're in the same network as your primary care physician, the insurance company (and your employer) can still access that information.

I've signed contracts in Thailand. A whiff of your condition and you will likely regret you ever trried this!

Not much compassion is shown to their own kids (overloading many with extra classes).

University Medical Center in 215 Hồng Bàng, P.11, Q.5,TP.HCM (Opposite Parkson) will be a great help.
Doctors are well qualified with experience. Yes they will speak English. Affordable. There is a "Foreigner Help Desk" where you can register and get preference. No need to be in queue like locals. Just take your passport with you. They have all facilities there.
University Medical Center HCMC

I have had more then my own share of struggles in my life, and "doctors" love putting labels on people

Bi polar, manic depressive, anxiety disorder, personality disorder , nearly half the western population has some of these attached to them.

May I ask wat you have tried on your own to make yourself feel better ?

Do you eat healthy? do you have positive hobbies? do you exersice regularly? Do you take chances and strive to be better day by day?

I see so many people, they do nothing, they don't take care of themselves, they drink too much, smoke, eat fast food, sit around , no hobbies, and then say "sighhhhhhh, I have depressionnn"

You can improve your life without pills, if you truly have a desire too

Lived in Vietnam for nearly 2 years after my retirement and living with depression without medication.After reading fellow expat experiences regarding mental health on Expat.com at that time and other sites,my own attempts to find a doctor I could trust and drawing a blank I returned  to the UK.With my UK medication I now travel to Vietnam for extended periods...except while Covid is about.
There are many,many posts here regarding mental health in Vietnam,none of them make good reading...good luck!

EFL which is teaching English as a foreign language aka teaching English in a non-English speaking country is not a good option for people with a mental illness.

Teaching is one of the most stressful jobs.

Living in a foreign country is very stressful.

EFL can be seriously stressful.

Being unemployed is stressful.

Covid-19 and the measures countries are taking is stressful.

EFL in the current climate is seriously stressful.

Try teaching online. That's what EFLers are doing now.

Asian countries don't carry meds for mental illness. They propogandize that mental illness is a 'western' problem.

Bottom line for EFL in Asia: serious stress, no meds for mental illnesss.

spunkyfunk42,

You will have great difficulty getting a Work Permit (if at all).

You may want to rethink your plans.

Right now you can't get a work permit. You can't even enter the country.