Before she tried to kill herself by jumping from her dormitory building a year ago, no one knew Xing Hua （name changed for privacy）， a 22-year-old economics postgraduate from Wuhan, was suffering from depression. She narrowly escaped death, but suffered severe internal injuries and multiple broken bones.

一年前，星華（為保護隱私，此處使用化名）試圖從宿舍樓一躍而下來結束自己的生命，在那之前并沒有人知道這位來自武漢的22歲的經濟學研究生一直飽受抑郁癥的折磨。雖然她逃過了一劫，但仍遭受嚴重內傷以及多處骨折。

“I was in great pain,” said Xing. “Only depression victims could understand the despair – a desperation so great that life itself seems not to matter any more.”

“我非常痛苦，”星華說道，“只有抑郁癥患者才能理解那份絕望。心如死灰，以致于活著與否無所謂。”

the World Mental Health Day on Oct 10 was marked by the theme: “Depression: A Global Crisis”。 According to the World Federation for Mental Health and the WHO, depression has moved beyond the medical domain to become a social problem.

10月10日的心理衛生日主題為：“抑郁癥：一個全球性危機”。世界精神衛生聯盟以及世界衛生組織表示，抑郁癥已經超越醫療領域，成為社會問題。

Statistics from the Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center show that of the 287,000 people who commit suicide in China every year, 70 percent are victims of depression.

北京心理危機研究與干預中心提供的相關數據顯示，每年中國有28.7萬名自殺者，其中70%是抑郁癥患者。

“This equates to one depression victim taking their life every three minutes,” cited CCTV recently.

“這相當于每三分鐘就有一名抑郁癥患者自殺。”中央電視臺近日報道稱。

According to the Beijing-based Capital Medical University, the number of depression patients has been on the rise in the past years and now accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the population, more than the global average of 5 percent.

北京首都醫科大學方面表示，過去的幾年中，中國抑郁癥患者人數呈逐年增長趨勢，現已占到人口總數的5%-10%，這一數字已經超過世界平均值——5%。

Wang Shaoli, vice-president of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, a medical center specializing in mental health, said that what makes depression so widespread is that everybody can get it.

北京回龍觀醫院是精神疾病專科醫院。該院副院長王紹禮表示，抑郁癥之所以傳播如此廣泛，是因為每個人都可能患病。

“No one is immune to depression,” said Wang. “It has become a social problem because depression kills one’s social capabilities, such as communication, and leads to a negative social mentality.”

“抑郁癥對任何人來說都防不勝防，”王紹禮說道，“抑郁癥能夠扼殺一個人的社交能力，比如溝通交流能力，從而導致消極社會心態的產生，因此抑郁癥已經成為一種社會問題。”

According to Wang, depression can be treated with medicine and early psychological consultation. The real problem is the lack of awareness surrounding the issue.

王紹禮表示，抑郁癥可以通過藥物以及早期心理咨詢來進行治療。真正問題在于，人們缺乏對這一病癥的相關意識。

“People with mental health illnesses are discriminated against,” said Wang. “So they are reluctant to go to hospital and often keep the pain to themselves, which only makes matters worse.”

“精神疾病患者往往遭受歧視，”王紹禮說，“所以，他們不愿意去醫院就醫，往往獨自承受痛苦，而這只會令病情加重。”

Only one in 10 depression victims are properly treated in China, according to the Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center.

北京心理危機研究與干預中心稱，中國僅有十分之一的抑郁癥患者在接受有效治療。