High levels of anxiety and a reluctance to accept professional help were
revealed by a survey in China that also found an overwhelming majority believed
they were susceptible to depression.
More than 82 per cent of
respondents thought they were inclined to develop depression but at least 45
per cent refused to seek professional help, the online survey found.
The findings of the survey,
conducted by World Psychiatry Association, were released yesterday.
Nearly 13,000 people, aged mostly
between 26 and 45, took part in the survey according to Si Tianmei, director of
the clinical pharmacology department at the mental health institute in Peking
University Hospital.
"The survey showed that the
public was aware of mental disorders but misunderstandings surrounding their
diagnosis and treatment were commonplace," she told China Daily.
Roughly 56 per cent of the
respondents believed that depression was possible when they were sad, under
stress or pessimistic.
"That means that the public
has some basic ideas about symptoms of depression, mostly on the mental and
emotional side," Si, who works with the association in China, explained.
But she also noted that many
might confuse a depressive state with depression, a medically defined mental
disorder. Without intervention, sufferers would see their social and working
life deteriorate and some, about 15 per cent, would succumb to suicide,
according to the association.
But a large majority, just under
74 per cent, did not know that some sufferers would display non-emotional
symptoms, including physical pain for no apparent reason, sleep disorder,
constipation and weight loss, it said.
A female patient in Beijing,
surnamed Feng, told China Daily that it took about two years for her depression
to be diagnosed.
"I began to suffer serious
headaches in 2009 and tried painkillers and traditional Chinese medicine, but
all in vain," she said.
"I was referred last year by
a doctor to a psychiatrist who diagnosed moderate depression," Feng, 38,
said.
Gu Xiuling, director of the
clinical psychology department at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said that it took
longer for Chinese patients to get a proper diagnosis, and the rate of
misdiagnosis was higher, than in industrialised countries.
"A considerable number of
sufferers looked elsewhere for help due to their lack of awareness," she
said, adding that few doctors there had received training in psychiatry.
Meanwhile, "misunderstanding
among the public about depression and treatment for it is also to blame",
Si added.
Nearly 76 per cent of those
polled thought depression could be cured by the person themselves changing
certain habits or functions, and medication was not necessary, the survey
found.
However, this is not just wrong
but potentially dangerous.
Patients diagnosed with
depression must undergo treatment, including drugs and therapy, she said.
This type of treatment is not
time constrained and can last a lifetime.
About 5 to 10 per cent of Chinese
people suffer from depression but only 5 per cent get the proper treatment,
statistics from the Ministry of Health showed.
The subject is considered taboo
and there is widespread discrimination, Si said.
"Some patients asked me to
give a mild diagnosis, usually something like weak nerves and many rejected a diagnosis
of depression," she said.
The survey results mirrored that.
More than 45 per cent said that
they chose not to seek medical attention even if they suffered from depression
and even for those willing to go, only 18 per cent would enter specialised
psychiatric hospitals.
But generally, Chinese people are
more aware of depression, Gu said.
In the late 1980s, "our
department received seven to eight patients a day and the figure now is more
than 100," she said.
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