Yet the government is not doing enough to tackle the problem, said association president Dr Choi Kin.

Apart from underestimating the abnormality, Choi said the lack of manpower and improper allocation of resources have aggravated the problem.

"Currently, the waiting time for mental illness consultation in public hospitals ranges from six months to a year. This shows the government is not dealing with the issue seriously," he said.

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Choi also said the number of psychiatrists in Hong Kong is terribly short, making up only 1 percent of the total number of doctors.

In comparison, almost 10 percent of doctors in Australia are psychiatrists.

"The longer the waiting time, the greater the suffering for patients," he said.

"Hong Kong, at present, is devoid of a comprehensive system to address the problem - health chief York Chow [Yat-ngok] has sidestepped the issue and I expect Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen not to raise the matter in his policy address Wednesday."

Dr Lam Tai-pong, associate professor of medicine at Hong Kong University, said: "Under-recognition and under-treatment of depression is very common. This is because a depressed mood may not necessarily be a noticeable symptom."

Lam said multiple physical complaints may obscure depression, adding that a high index of suspicion is crucial for recognition and diagnosis of the disease. He warned that mental illness is a major risk factor in suicides.

"More people die committing suicide than in homicides and wars combined worldwide," he said.

Dr Stephen Hsu I-mong, 43, a medical scientist who has been suffering from bipolar depression for more than 10 years, said mental illness afflicts almost everyone.

"For me, mental illness is not only an academic topic, but a live experience," said Hsu, an assistant medical professor at Harvard Medical School who was diagnosed with mental illness when he was a medical student.

"I just felt very odd and I didn't understand why I couldn't sleep. I lost appetite and I became very, very anxious for no reason at all," he said.

"In the morning, I couldn't get out of bed and I was afraid to get out of bed.

"I'm a music composer and I write poetry. I stopped playing the guitar and I stopped writing all the things I used to enjoy because I couldn't experience the pleasures derived from them.

"Everything slows down, even physically."

Hsu said it normally would take him two minutes to brush his teeth, but there were times it took him almost two hours to do so.

"It happens to anyone, especially those practitioners and academics who are living a stressful life," he added.

According to the World Health Organization, depression affects about 120 million people worldwide, but fewer than 25 percent are getting effective treatment.

The WHO predicts that depression will become the second leading cause of disability by the year 2020.