Authorities should devise a plan to focus on the mental health of people caught up in the growing financial crisis, a political advisor suggested yesterday.

An alarm system should be created to monitor and track the mental wellbeing of people, said Chang Qing, a delegate to the ongoing annual session of China Political People's Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Shanghai Committee.

"The bad economy, bear market, high property prices, pay cuts and high chance of unemployment are causing people anxiety, insomnia, less interest in social events, reticence or even headache and dizziness," Chang said.

He said the system should be able to offer counseling when someone shows signs of mental distress.

"Apart from investing in major constructions to boost the economy, the authorities should also put more money into social welfare to make people feel secure," he said.

He also had another suggestion.

"I would suggest that people who are worried or feel defeated should seek comfort with traditional Chinese culture, in which lots of thoughts have been given to coping with hardships and difficulties," Chang said.

He said while everybody is talking about boosting the economy in this trying time, less concern has been given to how people are coping with economic stress.

As a CFO with a major State-owned enterprise, Chang said, he has lots of business friends who talk about such problems.

"They look depressed," he said.

Shan Huaihai, a therapist with the Shanghai Mental Health Center, said he's been offering more counseling recently. "The country's fast developing economy brings people mental problems," he said.

A survey conducted 20 years ago found 13 out of 1,000 Chinese people have mental health problems, and a more recent one said 3 percent of Chinese people suffer from depression.

In fact, Shan said, a man in his early 30s came to see him yesterday. Working in logistics, one of the sectors suffering most from the economic crisis, the man was insecure, according to Shan.

"He told me he was planning to buy property and get married, which make him even more stressful," he said. "He could not sleep and cries a lot."

Li Feikang, another delegate to the meeting, suggested the government aid enterprises to help them hire more people or secure existing jobs.

"If the anxiety is not settled well, the unemployed will feel increasingly depressed or even hate the society, which will bring instability," he said.

(China Daily January 15, 2009)