Depression is now one of the top three public health problems in
China, according to Michael R. Phillips, executive director of
Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center.
Statistics show that 5 percent of Chinese people suffer from the
disease and 13 out of 1,000 Chinese have mental health issues.
One-third of the 16,000 callers to the center's hotline last
year were found to suffer from serious depression, Phillips said.
The hotline was established in 2003.
And 15 percent of the callers harbored suicidal thoughts.
"Actually we do not really have evidence to prove that mental
illness is becoming more and more common in China," said the
Canadian doctor who has worked in China for 20 years.
"What has happened is a gradual increase in the awareness of the
problem."
However, mental health services have not kept up with the growth
in demand for help.
A study jointly conducted by the centre and the Beijing
commission of science and technology shows a majority of patients
get diagnosed when they pay first visits to doctors at general
hospitals.
It is worrying because psychological treatment requires gradual
and prolonged treatment, with many long-term meetings between
doctors and patients, he said.
On another front, 90 percent of Chinese who have committed
suicide are found to have never sought psychological care.
Mental illness can result from a combination of personality
traits, lifestyle stress or a lack of a social support network,
experts said.
Phillips pointed out the nation's family planning policy is to
some extent having a negative impact on the development of many
young people's personality development.
"If children are spoilt by their parents, it prevents them from
developing skills to deal with difficulties on their own," he
said.
(China Daily March 8, 2005)