Mental Health: A national helpline hotline set up in China
The National Health Commission announced the measure as part of a plan to cope with an emergency kept hidden for many years for cultural reasons. Mental distress is also pervasive in rural areas, especially among women and young people. Fewer than four psychiatrists are available per 100,000 people in the country.
Milan (AsiaNews) – On 25 December, China’s National Health Commission (NHC, Guójiā wèishēng jiànkāng wěiyuánhuì)[*] held a press conference in Beijing to illustrate the results of the country’s efforts in the mental health area.
According to data released by the World Health Organisation, some 54 million Chinese citizens are currently suffering from depression and 41 million from anxiety-related disorders.
While it is true that these illnesses are prevalent among the country's urban population, thanks to an increasingly hectic lifestyle and the consequences of the current economic crisis, rural residents too are greatly affected by them.
A report published on the World Population Review website shows, for example, that rural dwellers are five times more likely to commit suicide than urban dwellers and that, unlike in Western countries, the main victims are women.
The reasons for this extreme gesture, the fifth leading cause of death in China in 2024, are attributable to the lack of healthcare, the stigma associated with mental illness, poverty and low levels of education that prevail in rural areas.
To cope with this emergency, the NHC has been working recently on improving mental health services, boosting prevention measures, and promoting educational activities aimed at raising awareness of these issues among the public, including young people.
To this end, a plan called Health China Action (2019-2030 Years) (Jiànkāng zhōngguó xíngdòng[†] 2019-2030 Nián[‡]) was drafted in 2019, while a National Centre for Prevention and Treatment of Health and Mental Hygiene was established in 2021.
Subsequently, the NHC, working with the ministries of Education, Finance and Public Security, launched a pilot project to increase the presence of mental health centres in hospitals in large cities and counties.
More recently, a toll-free help line (12356) was announced at the press conference on 25 December, available for anyone who wants expert counselling or just simple information.
Speaking at the press conference, Professor Xiè Bīn said that, despite government efforts, many Chinese citizens still "have a low awareness of mental health and common mental disorders and lack knowledge about therapies and prevention.”
While the percentage of patients who turn to specialists is still low, only 9.5 per cent of those suffering from depression receive medical treatment, the chairman of the Shanghai Mental Health Centre expects requests for psychotherapeutic support to increase in the short term.
Considering that fewer than four psychiatrists are currently available per 100,000 people in China, urgent action is needed to further adapt the healthcare offer, especially in the western and more remote areas of the country, where it is most lacking.
At the same time, Xiè notes, it is important to invest more in scientific research into the pathogenesis of mental disorders and the use of new technologies in the treatment of these illnesses. Delays are probably due to the fact that mental health in China has only received attention in the general public and academia in the last 20 years.
This issue has long been considered taboo, due to deep-rooted biases in Chinese culture that people with mental disorders are often deemed incapable of realising the Confucian ideal of personal and social harmony.
Many people continue to avoid admitting that they suffer from mental health problems for fear of seeing their reputation damaged and becoming isolated in their community.
A recent article published in the Sixth Tone online magazine reports a series of stories taken from Chinese social media that provide the measure of how difficult it is for an elderly or middle-aged person to embark on a psychotherapeutic path.
One comes from Huang Liling, a 30-year-old native of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, who lives in Guangzhou.
After accidentally discovering during the 2022 Chinese New Year holidays that her mother was taking psychotropic drugs to treat a form of menopause-related depression, she immediately suggested to her to see a psychologist. It took more than a year for the mother to be convinced to take this step and right from the first session with the specialist she assumed a reluctant and hostile attitude.
By supporting her on this journey, Huang learnt some painful aspects of her mother's private life that may have affected her psychological well-being, such as the difficult relationship with her husband, a man with an irascible and often absent character.
Another noteworthy story is that of Song Wendie, a 34-year-old native of Chongqing. After inviting her mother to spend a few days in her company in Shanghai, where she now lives, she began to notice oddities in her mother’s behaviour.
Convinced that her mother would never consider seeing a psychologist, she devised a plan whereby she asked her mother to take part in promotional group therapy sessions to help her solve her relationship problems.
The mother accepted, convinced that the meetings would mainly concern her daughter. Meanwhile, Song realised that her mother’s pain began after retirement and the death of her own father, whom she had long cared for. The emergence of unexpected conflicts with her brothers worsened the situation.
After overcoming an initial resistance, Song's mother finally decided to join individual meetings with a therapist, much to her daughter's amazement.
In China mental health disorders do not affect only adults, young people too are touched by them, including those living in the country’s rural areas.
According to what Xiè said during the conference last December, the percentage of Chinese adolescents who suffer from mental health problems is about 2 per cent. The expert therefore dismissed the data circulating on the web, according to which depressive symptoms affect 15-20 per cent of young Chinese, based on surveys that are unscientific and without reliable criteria.
Although this figure is more reassuring than expected, for Xiè, it is necessary to keep focused on those factors, internal and external, that influence children’s psychological development and growth.
It is important to ensure that they grow up in a peaceful family environment, are encouraged to nurture interpersonal relationships, and are protected from the dangers deriving from access to online content.
Parents should also avoid being too lenient and permissive towards their children or putting too much pressure on them to achieve school results.
[*] 國家衛生健康委員會
[†] 健康中國行動
[‡] 年
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