Timely treatment can break depression cycle

Dear Dr. P

I have been struggling with depression on and off (mostly on) for the past eight years. I have spent about three of those years on Wellbutrin XL with much success. However, I have always chosen to stay off of it after a while and am generally okay for six to nine months, before my depression comes back.

I have been off Wellbutrin XL since May, 2011 but in the past couple of months my depression has returned in full force.

I was wondering if you could recommend a psychiatrist, clinic, or doctor in Busan who might be able to prescribe Wellbutrin XL for me. It is the only thing that has worked in the past, and the only thing I am comfortable with using now. I live in the Haeundae area but would be willing to go to another part of the city.

Dear Anonymous I am so sorry that your depression has recurred again. In my experience, many psychiatric patients undergo treatment and take medication, which works well, when their symptoms worsen, but they often stop when they improve. However, I think that they should do the reverse. If they can receive more psychiatric treatment when their condition is good, it would be better and more cost-effective to prevent a recurrence of the illness Wellbutrin XL is a well-known anti-depressant in Korea nowadays, so you can get it easily at any psychiatric clinic. The issue is how to find an English-speaking psychiatrist who communicates without difficulty but that is not easy. First off, I would like to introduce the Haeundae Psychiatric Clinic nearby. The clinic is located in the center of Haeundae Market Street, and Dr. Lee is the director of the clinic. You can reach him at 010-8102-9365 (mobile) or 051-746-9367 (office). It will be better for you to call him directly because I have no idea of the nurse’s English proficiency. The other one I want to recommend is the Pusan National University Hospital, which is one of the biggest general hospitals in Busan. They provide an English translation service for foreigners. Kyung A Lee is the nurse in charge of the service, and her mobile number is 010-8504-8200. You can get help from her.

Dear Dr. P, I am a Hong Kong girl. I recently fell in love with a Korean boy. His is 25, and I am 28. So, I am about three years older than he is. He doesn’t know my age, and he thinks I am younger than him, because I look really young. Do you think he will be upset if I tell him my age? Do the young generation of Korean men care about age gaps nowadays?

Dear VIVI

You seemed worried because you feel that your lover's feelings towards you will change should he find out that you are actually three years older than he is.

However, you can't keep that a secret from him forever. I believe the right thing to do is to tell him the truth when the time comes.

To be honest, there are many couples in Korea these days in which the woman is older than the man. It isn't uncommon for you to be three years older than your significant other.

Of course, people differ in their ideas, but most young people don't take age differences too seriously. The important thing is not your age difference, but your hearts.

Tell him your true age. If you can confirm your love for each other, than your age difference will definitely be a problem you can both overcome.

Park Jin-seng is a psychiatrist who runs a clinic for foreigners in Seoul and operates the personal therapist forums on www.lifeinkorea.com. Please submit questions for Park to mdoctor@korea.com or call the hotline at 1588-4276.