I take two different types of SSRI drugs for an anxiety condition and was just wondering if this would make for some difficult border crossings in certain countries within south east Asia? Do they discriminate against certain mental disorders and maybe give me trouble about the medication I need to carry with me or am I just jumping to conclusions?
Reply to this Hello Danny 😊
I have never heard of people being discriminated against because of mental disorders at borders in SE Asia.
If possible I think it would be wise to carry your medication in its original packaging and to have a doctors letter with you explaning what the medication is for. It might prevent delays if all infomation is clear and confirmed in writing by a doctor.
Mel
Reply to this I'm just a bit paranoid about filling out the chinese visa application because there's a section where you have to list certain things like if you have a mental disorder and I hope my visa won't be refused because of this.
Reply to this The Chinese can be very weird with all their forms. When I arrived at the airport in Shanghai they gave me a form to fill in, in which I had to declare anything form AIDS to a cough. I dont know what they would have done, if I had filled in yes for anything.
Does anyone else reading have any more experiences to add. Hopefully, somebody has some information about what the chinese customs and immigrations attitude about mental disorders would be. Since they are taking things like the Swine flu so seriously, they would probably be weird about mental disorders for sure.
Reply to this Well hopefully they're more concerned about a disease that is contagious unlike a mental disorder. In my case it's really nothing serious anyway, I just have to take a maintenance dose of meds to avoid a potential relapse that's all. I really hope they see it like that and not go over the top thinking I could go postal at any moment and kill people.
Edit: Been looking up some info online and have found this posted in numerous areas:
"Any person suffering from a mental disorder, leprosy, AIDS, venereal diseases, contagious tuberculosis or other such infectious diseases shall not be permitted to enter China."
How can they group all mental disorders together though? You can't compare an anxiety disorder with a schizophrenic disorder!
Reply to this Well hopefully they're more concerned about a disease that is contagious unlike a mental disorder.
Unfortunately, prejudice can apply in some places, as is evident from the quote you found online.
Maybe your doctor can word the letter you carry with your medication to show customs in a way that says you need the drugs, but does not exactly point out why. Any chance that the pharmacy will label the medication in a way that will not quite say what it is, to get past the Chinese customs? Usually, I would say label all drugs clearly and leave in original packages, but I think this is a circumstance that changes that.
How can they group all mental disorders together though? You can't compare an anxiety disorder with a schizophrenic disorder!
Prejudice does not consider details like that. I hate to think how they would treat Chinese people with mental disorders, who live in China, if they are like this.
Some good news though is that I dont think they do extensive searches and investigations on people at the customs in China. When I was there, they just took the forms most people filled in and waved them on.
I would answer NO on the part of the form that asks if you have mental disorders though. I think it is unlikely they will be fair about it if you declare it.
Reply to this All I can add is definitely bring the packaging with your name and dob printed on them. I recently had a really hard time travelling to Sweden from London , were I was treated like it was class a drugs I was carrying over the boarder.
Luckily for me on the guards had actually heard of mine, or they said they may not have left me in the country, I left my packaging at home.
Also make sure to bring enough to cover the length of your trip, plus an extra strip in case one gets lost or wet
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