Chattogram Pharmaceutical Wholesalers - Mental Health Toll

I've spent 6 years running a wholesale pharmaceutical business in Chattogram, Bangladesh — a role I took over as a teenager after my father passed away in 2021. I'm now a first-year psychology student. And I keep noticing something nobody in this trade talks about: the mental toll of being a wholesaler in an increasingly competitive market. Bangladesh's pharma market has grown from ~$25M in 1982 to ~$3B today. Impressive on paper. But almost none of that story covers the thousands of small wholesalers squeezed in the middle — between manufacturers cutting margins and retailers demanding more credit, faster delivery, and lower prices. A few patterns I've lived and observed: → Chronic financial anxiety — not one crisis, but a constant low hum of "will this payment come in on time" → Decision fatigue — negotiating with suppliers, retailers, and staff all day, with no natural stopping point → Role strain — many take over the family business young, expected to perform full authority before they've had time to learn it → Silence — there's no space in this culture to say "this is heavy." Financial worry gets absorbed quietly, alone → Anticipatory stress — not just "how do I get through this month" but "will my role even exist in 5 years" as direct distribution reshapes the supply chain There's real research on occupational stress in Bangladesh — but almost none of it looks at the self-employed trading class. People who employ others, move essential goods, and carry enormous financial risk, with zero structural support for the psychological weight of it. I'm working on early research connecting my field experience with what I'm learning in psychology, focused on mental health in South Asian small-business and trading communities. If you work in trade, distribution, or wholesale — anywhere — and this resonates, I'd like to hear from you. I wrote a longer version of this on my blog, link in comments. #MentalHealth #Psychology #Bangladesh #Pharmaceuticals #SmallBusiness #OccupationalHealth #Research