The way Saudi society operates puts enormous pressure on individual Saudis, according to a Saudi TV2 program, and ends up depressing them. This Khaleej Times piece from the UAE reports that broken families and the inordinate pressure put on women is taking a serious toll among Saudis.

1.5m Saudis suffer from depression
Habib Shaikh

JEDDAH — Nearly 1.5 million Saudis are suffering from mental depression as a result of breakdown of family values, lack of emotional support and misuse of polygamy, among other factors, according to a Saudi TV2 channel programme on social issues in the Saudi society.

The programme, titled Life Stories, features interviews with children and women who come from broken families with their lives shattered and a future that looks bleak. It is conducted by Dr Parisa Saed Al Hashem, a clinical psychologist. Every week the victims of domestic violence and divorcees are interviewed either in the studio or in their homes, where they speak to the channel’s staff with the voiceover in English. Later, Parisa takes up questions from the listeners who give their own analysis at the end of the interview.

…”The breakdown in family values is the result of a toxic relationship in the family and lack of emotional support. Also, there is a lack of social network in the society that could rise to the challenge in an emergency situation,” she explained.
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