Say 'see a doctor' rather than 'be happy'

Choi Jin-Ri, a female pop star from the Republic of Korea better known under her stage name Sulli, was found dead in her apartment on Monday at the age of 25. The local police said they would conduct a postmortem examination to determine the cause of her death, but the expectation is she committed suicide. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

Although it remains to be seen whether Sulli committed suicide, it is known she suffered from depression. According to an estimate of World Health Organization, globally there are about 350 million people who suffer from depression. Yet only about half of them get proper medical treatment. In some countries, the treatment rate can be as low as 10 percent. About 1 million people commit suicide every year because of depression.

The main reason for the lack of treatment does not lie in lack of medical support, but the lack of knowledge about depression and the social stigma attached to it. Many patients, when they get depressed, think they are just in a low mood and hope to get better through their own efforts instead of realizing it is a serious medical condition requiring professional treatment.

The lack of understanding from people around them makes the situation worse for those suffering from depression. A Xinhua story describes the awkward situation depressed people face: When they get depressed, their friends, colleagues, even family members think they are in a low mood and just encourage them to "be happy". No one tells them to seek help.

Actually, the biggest trouble of depression is that the patient loses the ability to "be happy". The exact causes of depression are not clear yet, but one thing is certain: They cast a negative effect on the patient's body and curb it from producing enough dopamine, 5HT and arterenol, three hormones that transmit signals of happiness.

When the depression gets too serious, the patient might be tortured by a voice inside his/her brain, calling on him/her to commit suicide and end it all. Postmortem examinations show that brains of those who commit suicide are already physically damaged.

So no matter how many times a depressed person is encouraged to be happy, he/she cannot "be happy". He/she needs proper treatment, increased exposure to sunlight and more exercise to regain the ability to "be happy", but few people understand this.

Depression as a disease is incurable, which means the patient cannot totally get rid of it; But it can be controlled if the patient gets proper treatment.

The cause of Sully's death is still under probe, but we hope more people can be saved from depression. Next time if you see some close friend always in a low mood, please don't tell him/her to "be happy", instead urge him/her to "see a doctor".