Mental health experts in Hong Kong were alarmed after a large percentage of the city's middle class reported that they often thought about committing suicide in the past 30 days.

A study conducted by the Caritas Centre for Human Empowerment and Achievement on the mental health state of the Hong Kong middle class found out that almost 90 percent of those surveyed said they have thought about suicide "many times."

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Caritas project manager Li Po-kay expressed alarm about the result of the study.

Mental Health Crisis

She said this "mental health crisis" that is happening to the middle class men and women could worsen if not properly addressed.

"Many middle-class people don't want to seek help out of fear of labelling, losing face, their professional image or having their work abilities questioned by employers," she said.

Hong Kong psychiatrists said middle class professionals are prone to mental health problems as they have to juggle work and family lives, leaving them with so much pressure to handle.

Mental Health Study

The study was conducted through the internet and phone conversations between May and December last year to screen for mental disorders. It surveyed 688 people and were asked about how they felt about handling stress at work and at home.

It revealed that while almost half of the middle class men and women in Hong Kong believed they were in a healthy mental state, the World Health Organization mental health benchmarks indicated that more than half of the respondents need psychological help.

Only 13 percent of those surveyed sought medical help for their mental condition.

The survey classifies the middle class as professionals who earn HK$ 20,000 to HK$100,000 per month.

Around 1.7 million Hong Kongers suffer from various types of mental illness, according to medical authorities.

TagsHong Kong, mental health experts, mental health crisis, middle class professionals, mental illness, Hong Kong state of mind, Hong Kong mental health