Talking people out of committing suicide is an important part of Meng Mei's work.

Working for a suicide prevention hotline in Beijing for eight years, she has a record of success in helping those afflicted with various types of mental problems. But she refuses to use the word "save."

"I am not God. I cannot save anyone but can only help them with their problems," Meng said.

Today is the seventh "World Suicide Prevention Day". Suicide has become the primary death cause of people 15 to 34 years old in China, Deng Xiaohong, vice director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health, said.

The hotline, which operates 24 hours day, seven days a week, has answered more than 110,000 calls since it was created in late 2002.

Most callers are between 20 and 40 years old, Zhang Yanping, deputy director the center, told China Daily yesterday. Typically, about 30 percent of callers have some sort of mental illness, and 20 percent are consulting the hotline about a mental illness.

Some 12 percent are having trouble with a family member, and another 12 percent are having problems with a person outside their families.

Most people with mental illness are not willing to reveal their problems publicly, Zhang said. So operators give them a chance to vent emotional pressures, without fear of anyone knowing their identity.

Some 173 million people in China are estimated to be suffering from mental disorders - roughly one in seven people, according to BSRPC research.

(China Daily September 10, 2009)