2023-07-07 04:19:53
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The Hong Kong-born American singer has achieved huge fame in China and her suicide has raised concerns about mental health in the country
Article informationAuthor, Van Wang Role, BBC News
3 hours ago
The death of pop singer Coco Lee shocked the Chinese people, sparking controversy and discussions about mental health issues on social media in China.
Coco Lee, 48, has died after being in a coma since attempting suicide over the weekend, according to a Facebook post from her two older sisters, Carol and Nancy.
The sisters also revealed that Coco Lee has been suffering from depression in recent years.
The Hong Kong-born American singer, who made her name in China, is known for her sexy energy and bright smile on stage and in front of the audience. Many people expressed disbelief after the news broke late Wednesday night.
“I can’t believe it. She was always the bright girl who loved to sing, dance and smile,” came the sentence in a comment on the news of her death, and the comment received nearly 3,000 likes on the platform Weibo, which is similar to Twitter in China.
Another comment, which won a lot of likes, asked: “Is there anyone still happy in this world after that?”
As messages of appreciation and condolence poured in for the late singer, many focused on the mental health issue her family mentioned.
And hashtags (hashtags) that talk about mental health have spread on the Chinese social platform, including the hashtag (# How close depression is to you) and (# Symptoms of depression), and it has also spread in government media such as the Chinese CCTV channel, People’s Daily, and China Daily, which published content to raise awareness People with depression and mental illness.
“People can feel that this issue is becoming more urgent,” says Dr. Jia Miao, assistant professor of sociology at Shanghai New York University.
It (mental health) is a symptom of the alarming situation that China faces: the number of people suffering from mental health problems is increasing rapidly, and no medical network is fully prepared to deal with this situation.
Depression or any mental illness has always carried a stigma in Chinese society. The Chinese word for mental illness is “jingshen bing” and sounds similar to the derogatory term for a crazy person, “shenjing bing”, and people with mental health problems will always be seen as people who have lost their minds.
Chinese patients have not been diagnosed with depression, according to Qi Ren, founder of the Depression Research Institute’s social media account.
“We used to hear things like, ‘Someone didn’t get a good grade in school, that’s why they jumped off the building’… So we never had a chance to ask these people what happened? What kind of help do they need?”
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One in seven Chinese residents will suffer from at least one type of mental illness in their lifetime, according to a new survey
As the Chinese economy is advancing rapidly, the pressure on individuals has increased over the past 10 or 15 years.
Dr. Miao, of Shanghai University in New York, adds that the Chinese are experiencing burnout because competition in school and the workplace has become fiercer, and mental health issues have gained community attention.
She also explains that as more people find themselves with these problems, they are more willing to share their experiences with their family and friends, and to seek professional help, which has changed the attitude towards the topic.
Figures show that the number of people suffering from depression in China has risen sharply. According to the Chinese Mental Health Survey released in 2019, one in seven residents in China will suffer from at least one type of mental illness in their lifetime.
Even people who are widely seen as successful are starting to share their experiences of feeling depressed.
In a 2015 article, Ren Changfei, founder of tech giant Huawei, revealed that he once suffered from severe depression and anxiety. Zhang Chaoyang, founder of tech company Sohee, has spoken openly about his past experience with depression several times.
The covid pandemic and China’s very strict ‘no covid’ policy also affected people.
“Mental health problems occurred during the epidemic. Because of the monthly income problem, the difficulty in finding a job – people’s anxiety has always been there, and it is even increasing,” says Dr. Miao.
Earlier this year, the suicide of four young men in a popular tourist attraction in Hunan Province sparked a fierce debate about mental health and social pressure in China.
The Chinese government is trying to address this.
Dr. Miao explained that schools and universities are now required to have mental health counsellors, and in major cities community units have appointed people for mental health care for the elderly.
But one of the most pressing issues is that there are not enough qualified professionals (to deal with mental health problems). There were only 64,000 psychiatrists in China by the end of 2021, according to state media outlet China Youth Daily.
Compared to the rapid pace of social awareness, Dr. Miao believes, “the country has a long way to go in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.”
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