wisepowder: Anniversary of pop icon Leslie Cheung's death sparks concerns

wisepowder

Anniversary of pop icon Leslie Cheung's death sparks concerns about depression in China


A growing conversation about mental health , sparked by the 18th anniversary of the death of a music icon, highlighted an unmet need for accessible and affordable mental health care in China.To get more chinese entertainment news, you can visit shine news official website.

On April 1, 2003, Leslie Cheung , a Canto-pop superstar, award-winning actor and gay icon, committed suicide after suffering from severe depression. It was always a poignant moment to commemorate the musical legend, but this year, people also openly talked about their own mental health. 

When I was living with severe depression, every time I mention it to my loved ones, they would always shut me down and tell me to stop overthinking,” said a Weibo commentator. 

Another person wrote, “No clinical diagnose, but I am very certain that I was living with depression for a while. During that time, I felt anxious and felt like the whole world was working against me. No matter what I did, I could not accomplish my goals.” 

Christina Wang, a mental health counsellor in Shanghai, said, “Many Chinese people feel they have to have depression to go to a therapist. That should not be the case.&rdquoepression patients need both medication and psychotherapy, but most Chinese people are forced to choose between two unideal plans.

Patients could either go to public hospitals, where resources are often strained and typically only prescribe medicines for treatment, or pay out of pocket for expensive private counselling sessions.

Therapists in China cannot prescribe psychotropic medications according to law. They can only refer patients to hospitals for medical treatment. Wang said some therapists are reluctant to do that for fear of losing the clients.

“Not every hospital offers psychotherapy. If they do, the therapists are usually seeing multiple patients a day. It is also difficult to book an appointment,” Wang said. “A lot of people become depressed due to their financial situation. They cannot afford the treatment. And this becomes a vicious cycle.”

A session with the public hospital usually costs around 200 yuan (S$41), but a session with Wang is four times the price, 800 yuan (US$121). Depression patients usually need 10 to fifteen sessions, making it a financial burden.