China now has a total of 16 million mentally ill patients, exceeding the number of people who die from major diseases, according to a report in Workers’ Daily.

Fifteen out of every thousand people will suffer from depression, one major type of mental illness, the incidence rate of which is similar to that in developed countries.

A survey in 22 major cities suggests more than 16 percent of university students frequently experience anxiety, depression and nervousness, the newspaper said.

Mental illness has been the main reason for students dropping out of school since 1982. Before then, infectious diseases was the main reason.

Only 575 hospitals and 77,000 doctors and nurses are dealing with mental diseases in China, 43 times below the level in the United States, according to the Mental Health Research Institute at Peking University.

Today’s fast pace of life and work pressure are contributing to the increasingly severe situation, said Chen Xueru, director of the Chinese Association for Mental Health.

People are more nervous than ever about their jobs as competition is everywhere. Social life is also more complicated than before.

“They may be induced to mental illness if they cannot adjust themselves,” he said.

Chen suggested people should try to release their anxieties or unhappiness instead of putting their heads in the sand.

People usually talk to relatives or friends when unhappy, but it is better to consult a psychologist if they have more deep-rooted mental problems, said Wang Yanling, a specialist at Beijing’s China-Japan Friendship Hospital.

After publicity promoting the advantages of mental help in recent years, more and more people are now inclined to seek aid from psychologists.

“People at all levels, not only the well educated but also lower down the social ladder come here for help, even if they live far from Beijing,” Wang said.

However, mental health centers are distributed unevenly in China.

Cities such as Beijing and Shanghai offer a variety of help, such as hotlines, special columns and lectures. All large hospitals are also required to open mental illness departments by the Ministry of Health.

But it is hard to find a psychologist in more remote regions.

Rural women commit suicide more than any other group in society, said one expert, adding that they could be helped if they had access to treatment.

(People’s Daily 11/22/2000)