Opinion | Coco Lee’s death highlights need to battle enduring stigma surrounding mental health issues

Name: Hong Kong music icon Coco Lee dies aged 48 after suicide attempt, sisters say
Uploaded: 2023-08-07T22:15:15.000Z
Duration: 3 min 59 s
Description: Hong Kong music icon Coco Lee dies aged 48 after suicide attempt, sisters say

The death of the pop star in Hong Kong, and that of an online influencer in Macau, have sparked discussion of a topic that is usually avoided

The goal should be an environment where these issues can be discussed like any other health concern and where there is greater access to mental health support

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Relatives hold a photo of Coco Lee after her funeral in Hong Kong on August 1. Lee’s death has sparked a renewed focus on mental health in Hong Kong. Photo: AP

John Hanzhang Ye

Published: 6:15am, 8 Aug 2023

Hong Kong and Macau have been saddened by the recent deaths of pop star Coco Lee and online influencer Jane Lao, the former manager of a popular Macau-based YouTube channel. These tragedies involving women dealing with depression have sparked discussion on how to identify and treat mental health issues, as well as what friends and relatives can do to help.

This might be the only positive outcome of the two deaths. However, we should not forget that there is a large group of people who have long been stigmatised, and that mental health is not just an individual issue but a societal one.

Many studies show the severity of Hongkongers’ mental health struggles. A 2013 study by the Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey Team found that 13.3 per cent of local Chinese adults had common mental health disorders. The Hospital Authority reported this year that the number of psychiatric patients diagnosed with depression rose from 56,100 to 66,000 between 2018 and the end of 2022.

A recent report by a University of Hong Kong research team found that 16 per cent of respondents, aged 15 to 24, had a probable psychiatric disorder and 1.5 per cent had attempted suicide. A 2017 review of mental health by the Food and Health Bureau estimated that between 1.1 million and 1.8 million people in the city had a mental disorder and between 70,000 and 220,000 people had severe mental illness.

Despite the large number of people potentially struggling with mental health issues, open discussion of the subject is rare in Hong Kong. It is considered a private matter, unlike illnesses such as the flu. Symptoms of depression are mistaken as choosing to isolate from others or being in a “bad mood”, harming social interactions with friends and family.

In this sense, suppressing mental health concerns becomes a matter of managing one’s image in front of others. Hiding how they feel only puts more pressure on those grappling with their mental health.

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Hong Kong music icon Coco Lee dies aged 48 after suicide attempt, sisters say