FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Special AEC-anxiety clinic to open at Bangkok Samitrungrad Hospital
Bangkok, May 24­—Due to elevated stress levels among Bangkok’s affluent middle-class as the ASEAN Economic Community draws closer, Bangkok Samitrungrad Hospital now offers specially-trained AEC-stress reduction therapists.

“We’re seeing a lot of people come in worrying about their ASEAN neighbors,” says psychiatrist Dr. Pornchai Siriboonsiriboon. “Of course, we immediately prescribe massive amounts of very strong drugs now banned abroad. But sometimes we also need to actually address their concerns through talk therapy.”

Cases peaked when PM Yingluck Shinawatra married off her niece to Hun Sen’s close aide’s son. “The general feeling is that the Shinawatras will behead Bangkok’s bourgeoisie and give their lands to the Khmer,” explains hospital director M.L. Chatri Chitrachit. “While that’s a definite possibility, in the meantime, we need to help our customers cope with the anxiety.”
The special unit is trained to face tough questions. One patient who wished to remain anonymous asked: “If I go to a restaurant and all the wait staff are Burmese, will they still defer to my Bangkokian upper-class rank the way upcountry Thais have been trained to? Will a Filipino know how to bend over while walking past me and quietly take abuse when I’m drunk?”

But for a trained professional like Dr. Pornchai, these questions are easy to answer. “Usually, all it takes is giving patients some helpful tips. For example, if an immigrant is disrespectful, threaten them with deportation. It works great when shouting at my Cambodian maids!” the doctor says with a hearty laugh.

Patients are also worried about not speaking English well enough, having to adapt to international standards, increased transparency and facing stronger competition in the workplace. “Look, some of these concerns are real. But if this AEC thing really starts to threaten class rigidity, we’ll just pull out. That’s what coups are for, right? There’s really no need to worry—at least not yet,” says M.L Chatri.

Visit facebook.com/aec.chill.chill for more information, helpful tips and to sign our petition for immigrants to be given Thai culture and history classes in special camps before being allowed to work here.