Do you know
that according to a survey done on 2,500 Hongkongers, around 15% of them have
some significant neurotic symptoms?
Now try to
apply the figure to this 7-million-people city…
Lots of
Hongkongers don’t really understand what mental disorder is. When they heard of
the word “mental”, they automatically think it has something related to
schizophrenia, being violent and untreatable. Even if they can tell and they
are suffering from it, they will still leave it alone because they are too
scared and embarrassed to look for medical help.
The result?
According to a survey done by Mental Health Association of Hong Kong in 2014,
half of the interviewees felt “having poor mental health” and 10% of them even
thought of suicide.
And as if
the situation is not bad enough, the city is severely lacking working psychiatrist,
with only around 350 (in June 2016). So we are talking about a patient-doctor
ratio of, on average, 4.5 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, which is way lower than
the median (8.9 psychiatrists per 100,000 people) for high income regions /
countries suggested by a WHO survey.
Of course
Hongkongers can also opt for private psychologists…if they can afford it. A
one-hour consultation from these experts could cost HK$1,200 to HK$2,000
(around US$154 to US$256) and is not covered in insurance. Who would spend
that amount of money for mental reasons when paying HK$200 for some cold
medicine is already deemed costly by many in this city?
This
explains why the private sector handles only 10% of the patients…
The
conclusion, from all these datum and numbers, is that Hongkongers are on verge
on mental breakdowns and alleviation of the problem does not seem feasible.
One day, they
may lose it and go to choke everyone they see.
So please do
not scare them, touch them, feed them or take picture of them.
Thank you
for your co-operation.
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