Depression in China

"He was the one who understood me the best and cared about me the most. However, he died suddenly when I was 20. Even till now, I've not recovered from the trauma completely."

Evander Wan, aged 24, lost a beloved family member when he was still in college. For three months after the death, he suffered from insomnia continuously, unable to rise in the morning or go to classes normally. Half year later, he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder.

In China, there are many people that are troubled by depression just like Evander Wan. According to WHO, by 2015, the number of depressive patients in China has exceeded 54 million, which is 4.2% of the total population.

However, for people with dperession, not only do they need to handle the disease itself, but also to get rid of the stigma and even discrimination against depression.

Alyssa Wu is still a senior student in college. When she was a freshman, she felt a persistent depressive symptoms from no reason. she was diagnosed with mild depression at a local psychological clinic when she was an exchange student abroad in sophomore year. "I had checked some books which told me that I might have depressed problems. But in Beijing, or say in China, I dare not to go to any phycologist clinic. I was so afraid that people around me would call me crazy. "Alyssa Wu had returned to China for more than a year and her depressive symptoms have not improved.She has never told this to people around her or find any kind of help.

Depression is often a chronic condition that is prone to recurrence ,and ,at the same time treatable. Unfortunately, according to the Lancet paper, less than 6% of patients in China have sought treatment because of stigma and lack of understanding of the disease. In contrast, the proportion of which in developed countries is 70% or even higher.

Shan Zha is one of the 6% of patients who have sought treatment. However, in her process of seeking treatment, there had been a lot of trouble. "I felt very strange when I entered that institution. First of all, the counseling office was not even a private space. Many people went in and out. The consultants were also very unprofessional. When I talked about my syptoms, she immediately expressed her sympathy to me." Without doing any tests, she was hospitalized and the list of the medicine showed that may costed her thousands RMB. "I realized at the time that I might have met a liar."

According to the 2015 Health Statistics Yearbook data, 14% of Chinese registered psychiatrists did not receive any training, 29% had only a college education certificate. Although China's total investment in health is rising, the allocation of health departments to psychiatric hospitals accounts for only 2.3%. This uneven treatment level has also increased the difficulty of treating patients with depression.

"I want to start learning psychology." Evander Wan said. Through long-term and effective communication with psychologists, the incidence of depression has been basically controlled. He also encountered a lot of trouble in the process of seeking suitable counselors, but ultimately he was fortunate enough to find a trustworthy doctor before realizing that a good counselor was crucial for patients with depression. "I hope that I can help people who have the same difficulties as me and let them, like me, retry ordinary life."