CHINA: Waving pieces of paper and calling for the doctor, a crowd of people storm the consultation room door in China's first depression clinic, a haven for those who find the pressure of runaway social and economic change too much to bear.
The clinic in Beijing's Anding Hospital opened earlier this month, at 6.30am. Within half an hour all 30 specialists were booked up. The patients, most of whom are young and affluent, are pleased there is finally a designated clinic for dealing with this growing problem.
"I've been depressed for four years. I just didn't feel well, I never felt good. I'm working in marketing and sales and my work pressure was too great. I hope they can help me," says one patient, a young man from Anhui.
A woman, who gives her name as Mrs Pei, has tried everything to combat her depression but she hopes for progress with the new clinic.
"I've been depressed for 10 years because of problems with the family and I've been coming to this hospital, though the clinic is new. I take a four-hour bus ride to get here from Hebei province," says the 35-year-old.
Depression is as common an ailment here as it is in the West, but there is huge social stigma attached to depression in China, combined with a lack of awareness of how serious it can be.
Medical experts agree that China's booming economy and increased pressure to succeed is taking its toll on the nation's mental health, but in the absence of good research, data is sketchy. The China Mental Health Association says the number of people suffering from depression in China is over 26 million and that around one in 10 will receive treatment.
An estimated two million people try to commit suicide each year in China and around 250,000 succeed.
Dr Wang Xiuling is deputy head of the centre and scores of patients are gathered outside her consultation room. An energetic, kind woman, she has been seeing depression patients for 20 years.
"This morning I've had patients from 18 to 78-years-old. A 78-year-old man came in and told me that he thought every day about killing himself," says Dr Wang Xiuling.
"We offer counselling, drugs and professional advice. Most people have been getting help but we're trying to make sure they get the right help," she says.
As in the West, she prescribes Prozac and Valium and other anti-depressants to help people with their problem, but the focus is on providing comprehensive treatment.
"Before, the problem was either ignored or people with depression ended up in psychiatric wards where they got the wrong kind of help," says Dr Wang Xiuling.
The clinic has 130 beds for in-patient treatment and it also provides counselling services and a helpline.
University students, in particular, are prone to depression as some have difficulty coping in the face of increased pressure to succeed.
The Chinese newspapers regularly carry stories about doctoral students committing suicide.
Over three months last summer three Peking university students killed themselves by jumping from buildings, while Shanghai's education bureau reported a rate of 5.4 suicides per 100,000 university students in 2002 and 2003.
The director of the clinic, Dr Wang Gang, says one problem with dealing with depression in China is that there is not much awareness of the problem and research on the condition is limited.
"There is a lot of social pressure and stress on people now and there is a lot of undiagnosed depression. Definitely more people are feeling stress. Awareness of the problem is getting better but it's still not enough," says Dr Wang Gang.
Depressed Chinese have to deal with the stigma within the family, often having to keep it secret from their parents.
Homosexuals are often forced to hide their true sexuality from their families and can suffer from depression as a result of having no support.
A recent study of 10,000 Chinese found that nearly 80 per cent felt under pressure, including schoolchildren stressed out about their course work as well as employees worried about their jobs. In the absence of useful information, many are forced to look for help on the internet.
"While I was reading about it, I found it hard to hold myself together.
"Tears welled up in my eyes and I sat beside the desk crying for quite a while. I really don't know what to do about all of this," wrote one blogger.