Unhappy poor are mentally diseased, says Chinese U

People who can barely afford to feed themselves tend to be miserable. This stunning, Nobel-class discovery comes to us from the Mood Disorders Centre of Hong Kong’s Chinese University. If the unhappiness continues for over six months, it is classified as ‘generalized anxiety disorder’. Quoted in the Standard, a chief economist at the Centre suggests that the only known cure for the affliction is to delink the Hong Kong dollar from the US currency. This is why all mood disorder centres need chief economists – such a refreshing change from handing out lithium.

I would have thought that getting depressed while suffering from such poverty is in fact perfectly normal, and the hungry destitute who are happy are the ones suffering from a disorder – but what do I know?

One sure antidote to feelings of gloom is the insightful quotes South China Morning Post reporters manage to find to make their stories complete. Thus we have a psychologist called Kathleen Kwok saying that low-income people should try to be positive and ‘have fun while shopping for bargains to reduce stress’, while another chief economist – this time at Bank of Communications – basically declares that the poor might as well just slash their wrists. Penniless old folk delving for half-rotten fruit at the wet market can console themselves with the thought that at least they have a wealth of options.

Click to hear ‘I Just Can’t Be Happy Today’ by the Damned!

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12 Responses to Unhappy poor are mentally diseased, says Chinese U

  1. Property Developer says:

    The whole of psychology is alien to the traditional culture of the Hongkongese. Taking short-termism, efficacy and pragmatism to the point of anti-intellectualism, many consider such wishy-washy concepts as the subconscious or emotional intelligence to be undemonstrable and therefore nonexistent.

    Madness, which of course never affects one of us, can in the limit be relieved or evacuated by a casting out of evil spirits or even laying on of hands; moodiness, by visiting a mall; stress, a massage or a pill; depression, by emigration.

  2. Quite right too.

    They should pull themselves together, get a better job and work harder. They never had it so good and the SCMP is always tellings us how many more millionaires we have every year so things can’t be all that bad.

    Some people don’t know when they’re well off. That’s probably because they aren’t.

    A DOCTOR WRITES: Lithium just stabilises you and stops you becoming manic. It has no affect on fundamental mood. Brian Wilson takes bucket loads.

  3. Sojourner says:

    Kathleen Kwok sounds a right muppet.

  4. Real Scot Player says:

    Kathleen Kwok is a muppet. Shopping only increases stress if you’ve no cash

  5. Failed Alchemist says:

    A more pertinent question – is this Center getting govt funding to do such “research”? And what should the outcome of the study show? That the govt should cut money to such centers and encourage social workers to throw buffets? Albeit, the Lychee is small but never amazes in the level of wacky academics and statistics.

  6. Mr. N. R. Oxide says:

    Bloody hell … next the Doctors will be telling us this air pollution is bad for us.

  7. maugrim says:

    Pollution? What pollution? Surely you don’t mean the ‘haze’ that is advertised on weather bulletins?

  8. Chimp says:

    @ Property Developer

    Buck up and stop blubbing.

  9. Stephen says:

    Well to pick up on one of your weightier epistles last week, this is the sort of inane nonsense our local professors should be concentrating on rather than the more exciting and seditious, Occupy Central Movement, according to the likes of David Akers Jones.

    CY will be relatively good for the poor and downtrodden, which is a good thing, as it’s an absolute scandal that this has be allowed to go on in a city sitting on a cash pile equal to two years of its total expenditure.

    However what CY giveth with one hand (poverty reduction) he’ll taketh with the other (a fully free vote).

  10. Property Developer says:

    Chimpy, Tut tut so defensive!

  11. Tiu Fu Fong says:

    Have fun while shopping for bargains? That sounds like the sort of enthusiastic yet useless tips that lady with the weird accent on the Wellcome PA used to offer.

  12. ruby says:

    let them eat copy watches.

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