Linda Chung Speaks About Battle With Depression
Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) spoke about her experience with depression at a talk on March 26, using her story to inspire others to persevere.
Linda has been open to discuss her battle with depression and often credits the experience to her personal growth. Achieving popularity quickly after winning Miss Chinese International in 2004, Linda faced severe pressure from a heavy workload and suffered loneliness from being far away from home. Through support from family and friends, as well as her own determination, she eventually worked through the hard times and gained emotional strength.
She was invited to speak at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology last week, a rare opportunity for artists from the television industry. Over a hundred students attended the event, many of which are her fans. During the one-hour talk, Linda once again shared her personal story to encourage these students to bravely face hardships and not to give up. Recalling her early career, she revealed that she nearly suffered an emotional breakdown while filming Virtues of Harmony II <皆大歡喜 II>, her very first TVB series. “I didn’t know anything so I had a lot of pressure. I was also afraid to talk to someone about it, especially those close to me. During that time, I would cry as soon as I returned home.”
After ten years in the industry, Linda seems to have found the right balance and is adjusting well to her hectic life. She demonstrated her technique for stress relief at the event, shutting her eyes and lifting her arms up by her sides while shouting “I can do it!” Her talk was a success, and she ended the event by graciously taking photos and shaking hands with the audience.
Source: Face Magazine via ihktv.com
This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.
She reminds me of an old friend I had. They are blessed with lucks in life while keeping ranting of themselves as unlucky girls all time round. Those girls need some medicine asap.
She never said she’s unlucky. She just said she has depression.
Depression can hit anyone. It’s not just a mental problem. It is also a physical problem. Depression can be caused by something has simple as lack of sleep for a long period of time.
I don’t see her as ranting themselves as unlucky. I think that everyone who moves from Canada to Hong Kong will have some level of culture shock (eg. slow-paced life vs. the fast-paced life, octopus card vs. no octupus card). Some good examples are: Christine Kuo, etc. (:
She didn’t even rant about herself. gosh. Please read the article carefully before you make stupid comment.
It was Haze who said that Linda Chung was “ranting of themselves as unlucky”.
My comment to Haze’s comment is that “I don’t see her as ranting themselves as unlucky”.
Although I’m not a fan of Linda, depression is no joke. She never ranted about it..she only shared her experience with others. Just because someone’s famous, or “lucky” as you put it, doesn’t mean they don’t feel lonely. Imagine flying all the way to HK from Vancouver by yourself, anyone would feel out of place and sad.
Depression is not something you can overcome by just saying I can do it. It is away deeper than that. Plus it is easy to relapse. It ‘s a long battle unfortunately,,,
Dear Linda Chung, you were NOT clinically depressed. There is a HUGE difference between being clinically depressed and “not being able to cope and adjust to stress and new life”.
A dear family member of mine is clinically depressed and has been for years. What I see her go through is so so so different from what these actresses/actors are going through. It disgusts me when people like Linda Chung are casually throwing around “depression” as a tool for them to gain credibility and sympathy.
wow, i just learned about depression today.
you know…people could go through depression really easily and even something simple as not doing well in school, not getting enough sleep etc.
each person go through depression differently.
dont compare your family member with her.
Please don’t throw a stupid comment of yours like that saying these actress/actors don’t go thru what other depressed people go through! How you know what they go thru? What You see them on TV is far different from when they get home. Who knew Leslie Cheung was so depressed he jump off a building to death?? No one knew it coming!
Did u know Linda cannot sleep for 3 months? U know how it feel to be lonely in HK at age 19 and being faced with 2-3 dramas at the same time? Not knowing how to act or what the new environment is like? Linda never said she was unlucky either. It’s just a speech to encourage young people to not give up and continue to work hard to achieve your dreams. Geezzzzzz back to you.
It’s more perhaps ppls who don’t have clinical depression would not know what real depression is. Or how heavy the word actually means, or when one should use it appropriately. So anything depressing is depression to them. She might not do this to gain sympathy. It’s to her understanding is depression, and she is trying to help other. Maybe we should not be too harsh on her.
Some will certainly do it for fame, but Linda seem a nice enough girl, that I don’t think she would do it for that. Call me naive (an aunty could be bouncing on me right now) but she seem to portrait as that sort of girl that have no malicious intentions in everything she do 🙂
I am personally depressed myself so I know how it feels. However, it also depends on how serious it is. The late Leslie Cheung and Barbara Yung were both severely depressed that they lost their lives due to it. Each individual is different and handles things differently since some can get serious to the point of needing professional help as well as medication. Leslie had all of that but still could not overcome depression in the end. I think it is fair to compare one person to another because each person is different.
Meant to say “I do not think it is fair to compare one person to another…” Gosh I need the edit button!!!!
Just because she didn’t need to go see a doctor or take medications to treat the “depression” doesn’t mean it’s not depression. Some people are mentally strong and able to cope with depression by themselves. You do not know what she did at home when she was alone, besides crying, maybe she was not eating, or even cutting herself. How do you know she didn’t have depression as she said. How do you know she didn’t have thoughts of suicide. Plus there are many levels of depression, she was probably able to adapt before her depression got worse, maybe her depression was at the beginning stage and was not as bad as other ppl diagnosed with depression, but it can still be considered depression
All depressions can be cured without medical treatment, it all depends on the person’s coping mechanism, way of thinking and whether they have family/friends that can support them.
She never said she was unlucky, just because she has everything other ppl wish for doesn’t mean she has no reason to be depressed
I agree with Geez. Everyone goes through simple depression (coping with pressure work, family, friend, etc). Clinical depression is a lot scarier. Typically you would be hammered with pills for chemical imbalance.
Based on this article and what Linda revealed it sounds like her depression is less severe. I agree that she was depressed but I wouldn’t feel like she overcame great barriers of depression. Her technique to get over it already shows how insignificant how depression was. It almost sounds like a problem with confidence and not depression. I’m not gonna through out possibilities and maybes of Linda’s experience as I am not her or know her personally.
The nature of her work will always give her pressure whether it’s acting out a role or keeping herself marketable. She just gotta learn ways to keep her sanity thru it all.
Yea, some jobs are more stressful than others. But being an actor/actress is really tiring and stressful so it is not a surprise that many would become depressed due to the pressure and stress. The KPOP industry must be even more stressful because many of Korean celebs often commit suicide due to depression and all… Really sad…
tue dat.
However I do believe other factors play in one committing suicide including ethnicity,gender,social economics status, environment issues.I also do believe there was a cover up in the korean celebrities who committed suicide.
Also for depression I have known people who have gone through this and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel if you talk about your problems to someone.
I’m interested in seeing the video regardless.
True. Depression and unable to cope with pressure is two very different things. She was just perhaps under pressure.
Inability to cope can cause depression. Maybe she was doing something at home that she’s ashamed to tell anyone, like cutting herself, thinking about suicide? These are symptoms of depression, we don’t know what she did, But true it could be that she was just unable to cope and stressed, but we are not to say/judge she didn’t have depression. We do not know what she’s done or what was in her mind to say that it’s not depression
Sigh. Imagine the not so lucky actors/actresses at tvb…
ummm……………………….well it’s about what linda
chung is saying or trying to say it
yolo i was thinking that…………………………………………..
why would the students pretend to be a person that is
attending and they’re actually linda’s fans i don’t get it
It was predicted to see the fan of Depression Chung to come and attack. Chung can do nothing to have positive perspectives same to those fans to be blind over her rants.
hi there
1. there are stuffs out there that cause depression.
2. stress, pressure and just being listless can easily trigger the change in your mindset.
3. honest, being depressed is no funny matter and it takes time to “heal” or to keep it at bay.
4. it is good to talk about it, speak it out, accept it.
5. seeking the right help and support too.
I had sleeping problem last year for eight months that eventually led to depression. I spent a lot money seeking medical help like acupunture which I thought could help me but hopeless. At last, I seek the help of psychiatrist and have been on medication ever since. I dunno how long I will depend on the medicine which is very costly.
Wish you good luck. If your depression is due to lack of sleep them maybe try some tips for sleeping. Like take a warm shower at night, and keep the room dark, lights off, with lavender fresheners in your room, keep all noise off, do not watch tv or do anything that will stimulate your brain or you or that will increase your adrenaline. Read stuff about sleep hygiene, maybe that will help.
Sab, thanks for your advice. I am now praticing yoga every day. Hope it will help to improve my situation.
It’s kinda irrelevant but I think everyone will think of suicide sometimes. However to commit suicide, you still need courage. Hence I don’t think ppl who commit suicide are coward but they are irresponsible to their family members. Depression can happen to anyone but everyone have different methods to overcome it.
I think she’s makes a big deal of her situation. We all go through depression stages, everyone does. Just because she’s a star, she thinks we need to focus on her and feel sorry for her and get a attention. I really don’t see her as having serious depression issue. There are far worst cases that her.
You are the one making a big deal of this issue not Linda. This article is not a big deal but u all make it like a big deal. She is not trying to get sympathy. U are the one thinking she is. All it is, she is trying o encourage people not to give up no matter how hard your journey is.
Clinical Depression is just a fancy way of saying that a physician has confirmed the symptoms that the patient has. One of the first steps of diagnosing depression is the victim who realizes that something is amiss as well as the victim’s loved ones who also observed the abnormal behavioral traits being exhibited. From there, the victim is self-referred or referred to see a specialist to identify the underlying causes and to treat the symptoms as well. Depression and the more serious Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects people in different ways and in various degrees. Some are able to cope with the problem better than others especially if there are supporting loved ones and friends.