[City of Depression] Hong Kong University Study Shows Increasing Number of Suspected Cases of Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (“PTSD”) Since the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement
The Lancet, an international medical journal, published the result of a ten year-long research conducted by the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine. The research showed that during the Anti-Extradition bill movement, one out of five interviewees in Hong Kong suffered from suspected depression or PTSD. This is worse than the situation during the Occupy Central Movement in 2014 and comparable to those experiencing armed conflicts ( 22. 1%), largescale disasters, or terrorist attacks.
Researchers also estimated that the mental health burden identified would translate into roughly an excess 12% service requirement to the public sector queue or equivalent.
#MentalHealth #PoliceBrutality #10Jan
Source: Now News, Lancet
The Lancet, an international medical journal, published the result of a ten year-long research conducted by the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine. The research showed that during the Anti-Extradition bill movement, one out of five interviewees in Hong Kong suffered from suspected depression or PTSD. This is worse than the situation during the Occupy Central Movement in 2014 and comparable to those experiencing armed conflicts ( 22. 1%), largescale disasters, or terrorist attacks.
Researchers also estimated that the mental health burden identified would translate into roughly an excess 12% service requirement to the public sector queue or equivalent.
#MentalHealth #PoliceBrutality #10Jan
Source: Now News, Lancet
#LettersToEditor
To my fellows (or "limbs" as some may call you)
In mental health first aid and a lot of other continuing education courses in the allied healthcare fields, there is a self-care exercise where you list all the things you're grateful for today. It can be anything, like "I just got my dream job!" or "I took a nice shower". Research says that building a grateful attitude towards life helps with sleep and depression, among other things.
But if this exercise was meant to help you feel better about your situation regardless of where you are in life, I think it falls flat in the face of what we are fighting against and fighting for. I don't want to be reminded that I am safe in another continent while my kindred fight on the frontlines. I don't want to know that the obscure medical equipment I was able to obtain through work ever needed to make its way to someone struggling to survive. Am I grateful for my safety and that I helped a fellow first aider? Of course. Does it make me feel happier? Very much the opposite.
In a more mundane previous life, my main worries were the same as most of us - school and family. Back then, an exercise like that definitely made me feel happier. I was grateful that my mom sent me clothes and snacks when I studied abroad despite the pressure to maintain my grades. I was grateful that a couple of classmates would share textbooks with me because I was short on money. In that mundane life, we only ever get to skim the surface of the true purpose behind such an exercise.
The purpose of a grateful attitude is not to feel better. It is to feel life for what it truly is. Many of you have been practising this exercise since last year without even knowing it. You do it when you leave money in the basket after taking drinks from a hastily abandoned shop. You do it when you hand off your only respirator to someone else's grandma and escort her away from the teargas. You do it with silly antics and games while you wait behind the barricades. This self-care exercise that has to be taught in seminars to burnt-out healthcare providers was somehow ingrained into your very existence.
From where did you learn this? Why do you return despite all the injuries, psychological traumas and deaths of last year? Martin Luther said, "Everything that is done in the world is done by hope." Somehow, you have maintained your collective hope for which I can only applaud you. However, I am worried for your continued well-being. Physical exercises are not just for increasing strength; they maintain it. The same applies to your mental health. There is a part of this self-care exercise that some of you may have not practised. You need to write down your answers. Some versions of the exercise ask you to write three things you are grateful for every day in a journal. Maybe you are grateful that your friend can freely worship in a Hindu temple. Maybe you contributed to a Lennon Wall today. Maybe you shared an egg tart with your brother. Eventually, you will accumulate in your journal a list of memories, reasons and freedoms. Flipping through its pages will become an exercise of hope.
Hope may not make you feel better but it will make you experience life better. It will empower you. With this in mind, I am asking you to practice this exercise for both your own self-care and also as an act of resistance.
Wishing you health in body, mind and spirit,
A distant sibling
Self-Care Exercise to Build a Grateful Attitude:
What are three things you grateful for today? If you are stuck, you can use these questions to guide you. Write as much or as little as you wish.
1. What was something you enjoyed today?
2. Who did you help? How did someone help you?
3. Did you compliment someone? Did someone compliment you?
4. What positive feelings did you feel at the time?
5. What was something you did to improve or maintain your well-being today?
#MentalHealth #HealthCare
To my fellows (or "limbs" as some may call you)
In mental health first aid and a lot of other continuing education courses in the allied healthcare fields, there is a self-care exercise where you list all the things you're grateful for today. It can be anything, like "I just got my dream job!" or "I took a nice shower". Research says that building a grateful attitude towards life helps with sleep and depression, among other things.
But if this exercise was meant to help you feel better about your situation regardless of where you are in life, I think it falls flat in the face of what we are fighting against and fighting for. I don't want to be reminded that I am safe in another continent while my kindred fight on the frontlines. I don't want to know that the obscure medical equipment I was able to obtain through work ever needed to make its way to someone struggling to survive. Am I grateful for my safety and that I helped a fellow first aider? Of course. Does it make me feel happier? Very much the opposite.
In a more mundane previous life, my main worries were the same as most of us - school and family. Back then, an exercise like that definitely made me feel happier. I was grateful that my mom sent me clothes and snacks when I studied abroad despite the pressure to maintain my grades. I was grateful that a couple of classmates would share textbooks with me because I was short on money. In that mundane life, we only ever get to skim the surface of the true purpose behind such an exercise.
The purpose of a grateful attitude is not to feel better. It is to feel life for what it truly is. Many of you have been practising this exercise since last year without even knowing it. You do it when you leave money in the basket after taking drinks from a hastily abandoned shop. You do it when you hand off your only respirator to someone else's grandma and escort her away from the teargas. You do it with silly antics and games while you wait behind the barricades. This self-care exercise that has to be taught in seminars to burnt-out healthcare providers was somehow ingrained into your very existence.
From where did you learn this? Why do you return despite all the injuries, psychological traumas and deaths of last year? Martin Luther said, "Everything that is done in the world is done by hope." Somehow, you have maintained your collective hope for which I can only applaud you. However, I am worried for your continued well-being. Physical exercises are not just for increasing strength; they maintain it. The same applies to your mental health. There is a part of this self-care exercise that some of you may have not practised. You need to write down your answers. Some versions of the exercise ask you to write three things you are grateful for every day in a journal. Maybe you are grateful that your friend can freely worship in a Hindu temple. Maybe you contributed to a Lennon Wall today. Maybe you shared an egg tart with your brother. Eventually, you will accumulate in your journal a list of memories, reasons and freedoms. Flipping through its pages will become an exercise of hope.
Hope may not make you feel better but it will make you experience life better. It will empower you. With this in mind, I am asking you to practice this exercise for both your own self-care and also as an act of resistance.
Wishing you health in body, mind and spirit,
A distant sibling
Self-Care Exercise to Build a Grateful Attitude:
What are three things you grateful for today? If you are stuck, you can use these questions to guide you. Write as much or as little as you wish.
1. What was something you enjoyed today?
2. Who did you help? How did someone help you?
3. Did you compliment someone? Did someone compliment you?
4. What positive feelings did you feel at the time?
5. What was something you did to improve or maintain your well-being today?
#MentalHealth #HealthCare
#Oppression #Depression #SadCity
¼ HK population shows symptoms of moderate or severe depression
On Jan 21, 2021, the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences of City University jointly revealed record high Depression Index in 2020 in Hong Kong.
The survey shows that the proportion of depressed people in Hong Kong has shot sharply up in 2020: 25% were mildly depressed and 23% were moderately to severely depressed, a 27% increase compared to 2018.
That means, every one in four people in the city has shown symptoms of moderate to severe depression. Among them only 10% claimed willingness to seek professional assistance. The largest number of respondents said pressure came from "political/social environment" (62.5%), followed closely by "pandemic" (61.7%).
Source: InMedia #Jan21
https://bit.ly/2Y0KtEI
#Poll #MentalHealth
¼ HK population shows symptoms of moderate or severe depression
On Jan 21, 2021, the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences of City University jointly revealed record high Depression Index in 2020 in Hong Kong.
The survey shows that the proportion of depressed people in Hong Kong has shot sharply up in 2020: 25% were mildly depressed and 23% were moderately to severely depressed, a 27% increase compared to 2018.
That means, every one in four people in the city has shown symptoms of moderate to severe depression. Among them only 10% claimed willingness to seek professional assistance. The largest number of respondents said pressure came from "political/social environment" (62.5%), followed closely by "pandemic" (61.7%).
Source: InMedia #Jan21
https://bit.ly/2Y0KtEI
#Poll #MentalHealth
#Oppression #InformationFatique #QuitNews
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists
#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth
Source: I-Cable News
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists
#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth
Source: I-Cable News
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#Oppression #InformationFatique #QuitNews
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists
Every day, people in Hong Kong are bombarded by an outpour of news broadcasts. As many contents of these news are frenetically negative, citizens started evading news. Graduates of journalism, on the other hand, have become disillusioned with their future career.
Psychiatrists advised that getting away from these negative emotions is necessary to avoid causing mental disorders.
Among the 30 people interviewed by i-Cable News, the majority said they get by their spare time by watching TV dramas or barely "do nothing". While no one chose to cook, only two said they read news.
Ms Chan, one of the interviewees, commented, "There is no good news, especially during this period of time, there is a lot of pressure, and it seems that Hong Kong is trapped."
Another interviewee, Mr Hui mentioned, "Hong Kong is under a lot of pressure due to COVID-19. People don't want to pay attention to these news in their own time or on holiday."
Ms Kwok said, "there are too many negative news, I don't want to be dispirited by negative information."
Not only the general public wants to get away from news, a former journalist have also quited her job.
A journalism graduate, Algy explained, "I read only news titles as I don't feel like reading into details. Even when I am avoiding news, I still feel the growing negative ambience around me."
In late 2021, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong surveyed among 1,066 respondents. Across all age segments disregarding their political stance, the growth in people quitting news is apparent.
Those who quitted newspapers have grown from 11.2% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Those quitted TV news also increased from 13.2% (2020) to 18.8% (2021).
Most of the respondents claimed that the ongoing political conflict, the growing sense of helplessness after pro-democracy Anti-ELAB movement and information fatigue as reasons to quit reading / watching news. Experts call such phenomenon as #NewsAvoidance.
In the meantime, psychiatrists in Hong Kong also found growing cases in mental illness due to negative news contents in recent couple of years.
A psychiatrist said, "when people relates a news piece to themselves, e.g. the death toll of COVID-19, they are saddened and distressed. Such feel could linger for hours or couple of weeks."
An organisation specialised in psychological counseling said that about 70-80% of recent requests for help is related to epidemic news.
The organisation reminds the public to look after their mental well-being, and look out for symptoms like insomnia, poor appetite and sweaty palms. They are advised to seek professional assistance when needed.
#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth
Source: I-Cable News
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/ci/news/article/37/796250?utm_source=hk.iott.app&utm_campaign=share&ts=1646544444012
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists
Every day, people in Hong Kong are bombarded by an outpour of news broadcasts. As many contents of these news are frenetically negative, citizens started evading news. Graduates of journalism, on the other hand, have become disillusioned with their future career.
Psychiatrists advised that getting away from these negative emotions is necessary to avoid causing mental disorders.
Among the 30 people interviewed by i-Cable News, the majority said they get by their spare time by watching TV dramas or barely "do nothing". While no one chose to cook, only two said they read news.
Ms Chan, one of the interviewees, commented, "There is no good news, especially during this period of time, there is a lot of pressure, and it seems that Hong Kong is trapped."
Another interviewee, Mr Hui mentioned, "Hong Kong is under a lot of pressure due to COVID-19. People don't want to pay attention to these news in their own time or on holiday."
Ms Kwok said, "there are too many negative news, I don't want to be dispirited by negative information."
Not only the general public wants to get away from news, a former journalist have also quited her job.
A journalism graduate, Algy explained, "I read only news titles as I don't feel like reading into details. Even when I am avoiding news, I still feel the growing negative ambience around me."
In late 2021, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong surveyed among 1,066 respondents. Across all age segments disregarding their political stance, the growth in people quitting news is apparent.
Those who quitted newspapers have grown from 11.2% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Those quitted TV news also increased from 13.2% (2020) to 18.8% (2021).
Most of the respondents claimed that the ongoing political conflict, the growing sense of helplessness after pro-democracy Anti-ELAB movement and information fatigue as reasons to quit reading / watching news. Experts call such phenomenon as #NewsAvoidance.
In the meantime, psychiatrists in Hong Kong also found growing cases in mental illness due to negative news contents in recent couple of years.
A psychiatrist said, "when people relates a news piece to themselves, e.g. the death toll of COVID-19, they are saddened and distressed. Such feel could linger for hours or couple of weeks."
An organisation specialised in psychological counseling said that about 70-80% of recent requests for help is related to epidemic news.
The organisation reminds the public to look after their mental well-being, and look out for symptoms like insomnia, poor appetite and sweaty palms. They are advised to seek professional assistance when needed.
#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth
Source: I-Cable News
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/ci/news/article/37/796250?utm_source=hk.iott.app&utm_campaign=share&ts=1646544444012