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Millions suffer depression and number’s rising
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CHINA has millions of people with depression and the number is rising all the time, according to the latest estimates.
The World Health Organization believes there are 350 million people with the disorder worldwide and that by 2020, depression will become the second most common disease in the world.
“Depression is a top cause of suicide,” said Qu Wei, director of the clinical psychology department with the Southwest Hospital in Chongqing.
“Some 15 percent of patients with serious depression have engaged in suicidal behavior,” said Qu.
Depression is a frequently occurring mental disorder with symptoms including sadness, a loss of interest in pleasurable activities, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, and feelings of tiredness and poor concentration, according to Wang Gang, deputy head of Beijing Anding Hospital.
Medically, it is considered a disease caused by genetic, biochemical, environmental and personality factors, Wang added.
One businessman from southwest China’s Chongqing, who wished to remain anonymous, says he has not slept well for the past eight years, annoyed by the number of daily trifles to deal with.
“I want to put aside my job, but I could not find anyone to handle it,” he said.
His driver was of the opinion his boss was just too picky. A stain on the car or a foul smell was enough to make him agitated.
Unable to escape from lingering anxieties, Wang, who was eventually diagnosed with depression, has been visiting a psychiatrist for eight years.
In China, where competition to outperform others can be intense, depression among adolescents is on the rise, according to Zhu Zhuohong, a psychology professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“My parents always tell me my classmates are competitors. So I take them as my enemies and feel upset whenever I see them,” said Xiao Min, a 13-year-old sufferer.
Although depression can sometimes be fatal, few patients go to hospital for treatment as seeing a psychiatrist is taboo, and many sufferers and their parents view it as shameful.
Just 10% seek treatment
Only 30 percent of people with depression in China have been identified as having the condition and just 10 percent of them seek medical treatment, according to an official survey.
According to plans for 2016-2020 released by the State Council in August, the government is moving to enhance screening for mental illnesses that may cause disabilities that include schizophrenia, depression and autism.
Qu, who opened a psychological clinic more than 20 years ago, said only two to three patients visited each day in the 1990s, but 72 visited last Sunday morning, many accompanied by their parents.
Thanks to the development of antidepressants in the 1980s, depression can be relieved to a degree. Yet the current clinical cure rate for depression is only about 30 percent, which leads to many sufferers quitting treatment, said Qu.
He called for more public attention and financial support for the treatment of depression as well as training medical personnel in the field.
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