Volunteers tie the cards written with people's blessing to a thread at a mental health activity in Beijing Sunday, September 10, 2006. (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com)

BEIJING, Sept. 11 -- A free information day on mental illness and suicide was held at Beijing's Ditan Park to mark the fourth World Suicide Day, themed around "with understanding, new hope", on September 10th.

    Doctors from the Beijing Suicide and Prevention Research Center, under the Beijing Hui Longguan Hospital, forfeited their Sunday leisure time to man the information stalls on the day. The Center has held the information day every year since 2003, the year World Suicide Prevention Day was established.

    The event allows the general public to take a test to judge the state of their mental health. They can then discuss the results with a doctor, who can offer advice on how to resolve any mental health issues they or people they know are suffering from.

    "I have always felt depressed since I entered college. Maybe the test can pinpoint where my problem lies," said Zhou Wei, a Beijing University of Chemistry sophomore at the information day.

    The research centre also created "life green cards" for suicide-prone people, containing their case histories and the phone numbers of all their relatives.

    "The card can help the hospital contact patients' relatives in case of emergency," said Han Feng, the volunteer charged with handing out the cards.

    As well as free psychological testing by medical experts, the information day also had a special volunteers corner where people could sign up to help at future information days, as well as other activities to help the mentally ill.

    "With the suicide rate growing across the world, the public need to pay more attention to this issue, " said Yang Hao, a volunteer from the North China Coal Medical College.

    Experts at the information day provided advice on a number of issues, like depression, other mental diseases and adolescent rebellion. Grief counseling was also offered to people who had lost their family members to suicide.

    An American psychiatrist called Bi Manli who has worked at the center for more than 20 years said China today places too much emphasis on medical therapy, which largely relies on medication.

    "Society is changing too fast and a variety of problems keep emerging, so we need to popularize mental health education at an early stage," Bi Manli said.

    She also advised everyone to find their own ways to release the stress of every day life.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

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