AI gives potential suicides pause for thought

Depression, disorders

The World Health Organization estimates that 54 million people in China have depression and about 41 million have anxiety disorders. About 700 people take their own life every day, while more than 6,000 attempt suicide.

Li called for families and society in general to pay more attention to the problems of people with depression, as childhood environment and schooling can play an important role in triggering the condition.

"I found similarities between many of the people we helped. Most felt they had an incomplete personality and lacked confidence and a sense of security. They came from tough backgrounds and endured parents who fought or uneducated grandparents," she said.

This sort of background often leads to people endeavoring to prove themselves to their family, and depression builds slowly before the floodgates open when they are adults, she added. She appealed for more volunteers in different fields and locations to join the group, the only NGO in China dedicated to preventing suicide.

Yin Feng, a psychological counselor in Singapore, joined the Tree Hole Rescue Team in August 2018, after it was recommended by an old classmate who works in AI.

"I've been working to help families with mental illnesses in Singapore to recover and rebuild their relationships. I hope that one day, my experience here will help Huang and me to devise a family recovery therapy that is suitable for Chinese people and all of society," the 43-year-old said.

In her 18 months with the group, Yin has helped about 100 troubled people, mostly students or young people in the initial stages of their working lives.

In June, she noticed a level 7 message that Intelligent Agent had obtained. The message, posted by a young man in the Chinese mainland, said: "I want to leave the world. I have no desire to stay here. I'm in poor physical condition and my psychological endurance is weak. I have lost the courage to face the future."

Yin started communicating with the young man to learn more.

"He often expressed a pessimistic attitude toward life and told me he had failed to make his first choice in the college entrance exam due to his poor physical condition. He had been unhappy for his whole college life," she said.

During their messaging sessions, she suggested he see a doctor. The young man was later diagnosed with moderate depression.

"Once, he told me by WeChat that he was giving up on life. I immediately reported his name, university and major to Huang and other team members. One of them, who happened to be a former staff member at the young man's university, called his teacher," Yin said.

Eventually, intervention by the university and the young man's family prevented a potential suicide and he was sent home for professional treatment.

"It was one of the most successful missions I have participated in, which was also due to the university's great awareness of mental illness," Yin said, adding that team members refer to those they help as "Tree Hole babies".

When the "babies" complain about the prejudice, even discrimination, they face, Yin tells them to treasure themselves and live good lives.

"We may not change others' perceptions right now, but we are entitled to speak for ourselves and receive professional treatment. Only when we are hopeful can we enlighten more people. We will keep each other company," she said.