Actress Kim Jung-hwa./Photo courtesy of Salt Entertainment
“There was a time when I wished I wouldn’t open my eyes tomorrow if I close my eyes today…”
Actress Kim Jung-hwa appeared on Channel A’s ‘Oh Eun-young’s Golden Counseling Center’, which aired on the 19th, and said that she suffered from depression for a long time in the past.
Debuting at the young age of 18 and taking responsibility for his livelihood, he said that he had a difficult time until his parents divorced and took care of his mother, who was battling cancer.
Kim Jung-hwa said, “I thought that all the circumstances made it difficult for me. Looking at the diary back then, there were no bright contents such as ‘If I close my eyes tonight, I hope I won’t open tomorrow’ or ‘I hope they disappear right now’. A lot,” he said.
He said, “I went to the hospital and got a test. I was actually diagnosed with depression and took medication. I also had severe insomnia.”
Actor Kim Jung-hwa / Photo = Channel A broadcast screen capture
Depression is known as a mental illness that is so common that there is a saying ‘cold of the mind’. According to recent OECD statistics, the prevalence of depression in Korea was 36.8%, ranking first among OECD countries. It is a serious result that 4 out of 10 people feel depressed or depressed.
In fact, the number of celebrities other than Kim Jung-hwa confessing to depression on TV is increasing. Singer Eun Ga-eun confessed that she suffered from panic disorder for three years as she suffered from severe depression while preparing to become a dance singer, and actress Lee Jae-eun also said, “When I was three or four years of marriage, depression got so bad that I almost died.”
However, in Korea, the treatment rate for depression remains at the bottom of the OECD. According to the Korean Neuroscience Association, the treatment rate of depression in Korea (antidepressant use per 1,000 population) in 2019 was the second lowest among OECD countries after Latvia.
Recently, it is reported that the mental stress has increased due to various life restrictions and quarantine guidelines due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
In particular, depression is considered a dangerous mental illness because, in the worst case, it can lead to extreme choices.
Singer Eun Ga-eun and actress Lee Jae-eun / Photo = TV Chosun, YouTube broadcast screen capture
According to the results of the National Mental Health Survey in the second quarter of 2021 conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Trauma Stress Society on 2,063 adults nationwide from April to June, 12.4% of respondents as of June said, “In the last two weeks, extreme I’ve been thinking about choices.” One in eight adults felt so depressed that they thought about making an extreme choice.
According to the WHO guidelines for prevention of depression released by the Korea Institute for Health Promotion, depression refers to a state of loss of interest in activities that you normally enjoy, and a state of lethargy and sad and depressed feelings lasting for more than two weeks.
If you’re feeling depressed, talk to people around you about your honest feelings and start exercising regularly, even if it’s only a short walk. But the most important thing is early diagnosis. Depression is best treated quickly by seeking help from experts such as a mental health specialist or a counselor from a local mental health institution.
Kim Soo-young, reporter for Hankyung.com swimming@hankyung.com
