Battling depression in the Czech Republic
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Depression is on the rise in the Czech Republic. Doctors there are linking the growing number of cases to high divorce and unemployment rates. Particularly worrying, they say, are the increasing numbers of women suffering from mental problems who are turning to alcohol as a solution.
One study estimates that the number of inpatients with psychological disorders has risen by approximately 25% between 1990 and 2004. A similar trend has been recorded in outpatient care. Women are affected particularly frequently.
According to Gita Pekárková, a senior physician at Prague's Bohnice psychiatric hospital, alcohol usually plays a central role in such mental problems.
She explains that: "If someone is really sad, it is often easier to turn to addictive drugs then to find someone else to talk about one’s problems. Alcohol is so easy to get, a good friend usually not."
Psychologists estimate that about 10% of Czech women now have a drinking problem. High divorce and unemployment rates are contributing factors.
Fighting social hangovers
One of those affected is Dana in her mid-thirties, one of Dr. Pekárková's patients. Dana has just successfully completed a three-month course of withdrawal therapy. Alcoholism is a stigma that Czech society cannot handle, says Dana. She says this holds true even if a person succeeds in breaking the vicious circle of depression, shame and alcoholism.
"Many people believe that only fools drink themselves into psychiatric hospitals. But that is just not the case. During my withdrawal I’ve met many fantastic women, even lawyers, doctors, actresses. All of them were intelligent, educated women." she says.
Dana recalls how her addiction began, drinking in secret to handle stress of her daily life. She believes that the way labour is traditionally divided between the sexes in Czech society puts an extra burden on women.
"Women in the Czech Republic are subject to enormous pressures. They work a lot. They start professional careers while at the same time taking care of their families. And often they do all that without the assistance of a partner. Regardless of how well they manage all these tasks, the moment the kids are in bed at night, they are so exhausted all they can is collapse on the couch and sleep."
Dana found that her family situation also affected her treatment, making her move into outpatient treatment before she felt she was ready. "Without a child I would have preferred to stay in the clinic longer. There you can learn a lot about yourself. And the doctors around you do not condemn you. That is so pleasant. Not like friends or society in general who all behave as if you have committed the worst sin ever. And what happens then? It pushes you back towards the bottle again, makes you think: 'I am a loser anyway. So what does it matter?' "
