Coming Out of The Shadows

来源 :Beijing Review | 被引量 : 0次 | 上传用户:bobby980
下载到本地 , 更方便阅读
声明 : 本文档内容版权归属内容提供方 , 如果您对本文有版权争议 , 可与客服联系进行内容授权或下架
论文部分内容阅读
  Three years ago, when Zhang Chen was a university sophomore in Wuhan, Hubei Province in central China, she started forgetting things and feeling drowsy all the time.
  “I could never remember what happened the day before, and in the afternoon I would forget what I did in the morning. I would fall asleep during class and my classmates couldn’t wake me up,” she told ThePaper.cn.


A nurse cuts a patient’s hair in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Psychiatric Medical Center in Hohhot, the regional capital, north China, on October 10

  Then she was diagnosed with depression. Thunderstruck at first, she gradually traced her symptoms of depression to her high school years. She recalled that at that time she was bullied by other students but the teachers and her family ignored it. She often felt a sharp pain in her chest, especially during exams. She still managed to fi nish high school and go to university. But this time she felt so awful that she decided to take a break.
  Zhang is part of a rapidly rising community of people in China and elsewhere in the world who suffer from depression. Depression is a growing global phenomenon. According to a news release by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, about 54 million people in China suffer from depression and another 41 million from anxiety disorders, while globally more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression.

Rising incidence


  Mental disorders have been on the rise for three decades, according to the China Mental Health Survey, the fi rst nationwide survey of the kind, whose findings were published in 2019 in health journal Lancet Psychiatry. The survey was funded by the National Health Commission (NHC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  More than 16.6 percent of the adults surveyed said they experienced mental illness at some point in their lives. Anxiety disorders were the most common among the disorders, with nearly 7.6 percent of respondents saying they had suffered anxiety disorders, while cases of depression too had increased.
  The survey, conducted from 2013 to 2015, was led by Huang Yueqin, Director of the Division of Social Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Peking University’s Institute of Mental Health. Over 32,000 people in 31 provincial-level regions were interviewed for mood, anxiety and alcoholand drug-use disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, eating disorders, impulse-control disorder and dementia.   The report warned “rapid social change is likely to bring about a general increase in psychological pressure and stress.” Also, with a rapidly aging population, mental healthcare for the elderly will come under serious strain.
  People are most susceptible to depression during three periods in their life: when they are between 20 and 30 years, between 50 and 60 years, and when they become senior citizens, Qu Shan, an associate senior physician with the psychiatry department of Peking University People’s Hospital, told China News Service.
  Depression can cause the affected person to suffer greatly and function poorly at work, at school and in the family. At its worst, it can lead to suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 15-29 years old, according to WHO.
  WHO also noted that a majority of people affected by mental disorder in lowand middle-income countries receive no treatment because of inaccurate assess-ment, social stigma, and a lack of resources or trained healthcare providers.

COVID-19 effect


  This year, depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses have been compounded by an unexpected factor, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. There have been several studies on the mental conditions of the people in Wuhan and Hubei, where the disease was the most severe, and on the frontline medical workers.
  Many COVID-19 survivors and frontline healthcare professionals are struggling with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, while the general public faces the psychosocial impacts, ranging from the effects of the lockdown to the effects on the economy.
  A report titled Epidemic of COVID-19 in China and Associated Psychological Problems, published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry in June, said a sudden outbreak of a disease always poses a threat to the mental health of those affected and their close contacts, including their families and medical personnel. A similar situation arose during the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003 too.
  Some of the key findings of the study were a higher rate of anxiety, depression and lower mental wellbeing among the respondents. Depression and harmful alcohol use were higher in Hubei residents while people aged 21-40 were more affected mentally.
  The study noted that the NHC has introduced guidelines for emergency psychological crisis intervention and an online counseling platform.

Tackling challenges


  For those with depression, it is important to have other people’s understanding, especially from their families. But understanding does not come easily. One month after Zhang went back home from her university in Wuhan, her condition deteriorated. She couldn’t read or think and found it hard to communicate with other people. It would take her a long time to say a simple sentence. She said her parents didn’t believe she had depression and told others she had come home to rest.
  Yao Zhijun, a psychologist specializing in psychological counseling for university students, told ThePaper.cn some parents don’t accept the diagnosis that their children have depression and don’t agree that they should take medicines. As a result, medical treatment is delayed.


A couple in Mayu, a township in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province in east China, live-stream themselves dancing on June 1. After the husband suffered depression, his wife helped him recover by dancing with him

  Shi Shen, Director of the psychiatry department of Huashan Hospital Affi liated with Fudan University in Shanghai, added that while depression can be controlled through standard treatment, only 20 percent of the people with depression get treated. Although the treatment rate has improved with the dissemination of information and education among the public, it’s still not very high.
  There is also a shortage of professional doctors for mental disorders. According to the Mental Health Atlas 2017 published by WHO, there were only 2.2 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people in China.
  The geographical distribution of medical resources is also uneven. Of the 10 best psychiatry hospitals in China, seven are in the east. The 11 provinces and cities in east China have nearly half of all psychiatry medical institutions, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses and hospital beds.
  The government has stepped up measures to address the challenges. The Healthy China 2030 Initiative published by the NHC in 2019 has set a goal: The percentage of those suffering from depression that receive treatment will increase by 30 percent by 2022, and by 80 percent by 2030.
  It also targets ensuring the number of psychiatrists per 100,000 people is at least 3.3 by 2022 and 4.5 by 2030.
  Besides, a community mental disorder rehabilitation and service system will be built, involving psychiatrist institutions, community rehabilitation institutions, social organizations and families.
  The NHC released a plan on prevention and treatment of depression on September 11, focusing on students. It said high schools and colleges should include screening for depression in students’checkups, evaluate students’ psychological health, and pay special attention to students identified with psychological problems.
  It also set the target of increasing the public’s awareness of depression prevention and treatment knowledge.
其他文献
One of the most challenging tasks for Western scholars is understanding China. The differences in their cultures overshadow the interpretation of China in Western discourse. As a result, China is regu
期刊
Xiamen has a long trading history. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the ancient Tea Horse trade route had run through it and other cities in Fujian Province, southeast China. Caravans carried tea, s
期刊
On September 8, China proposed the Global Initiative on Data Security to meet the new challenges emerging in global digital governance. State Counselor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the propo
期刊
Tsamjo, a former farm worker, is from Tsethang in Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. The town is known for a traditional art that goes back for centuries, serge weaving. Soft, durable and sta
期刊
Having worked as a teacher and then schoolmaster for more than a decade, 38-year-old Liang Xin, a native of Beijing, made a decision in 2018 that changed the life of a group of Tibetan students and al
期刊
Since the novel coronavirus disease outbreak this year, major world economies have been in a lockdown and the fi nancial markets are more volatile than market expectations. Consequently, the renminbi
期刊
When the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the only museum in the country on Chinese volunteers’ participation in the Korean War (1950-53), reopened in the border city
期刊
Being the managing director of HERM Studio, a unisex British watch brand, Simon Ryley knows the value of timing. So despite the restrictions on international travel due to the novel coronavirus diseas
期刊
Seventy-five years ago, our fathers’generation won the epic victory of the World Anti-Fascist War through years of heroic struggles. The ensuing decades witnessed the founding of the United Nations on
期刊
VIET NAM  The 52nd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting is held via video link on August 25. Participants discussed the bloc’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, including a comprehensive recove
期刊