Family medicine specialist Ye Esther revealed that she is suffering from treatment-resistant depression.
In the episode of KBS2's ‘Park Won-sook's Let's Live Together’ aired on the 9th, the sisters were shown visiting Jeju Island after being invited by the couple Ye Esther and Hong Hye-gul.
On that day, Hong Hye-gul revealed that behind Ye Esther's bright demeanor lies deep sadness. He said, "Ye Esther is very cheerful, but after filming, she goes up to her room, closes the door, and draws the curtains. She just lies down all the time. She often says she doesn't want to live."
When Hye-eun asked for the exact diagnosis, Ye Esther replied, "It's treatment-resistant depression." Ye Esther added, "Even with medication, 30-40% of it doesn't get treated. I received brain stimulation therapy 28 times while hospitalized," which drew attention. Hong Hye-gul added, "No matter what medication I use, there's no improvement, and I feel powerless. I'm a doctor too, but nothing works. When I received electroconvulsive therapy, I had to undergo general anesthesia 28 times, so I was hospitalized for three months. My son and I stayed in the hospital together the whole time."
Hong Hye-gul said, "Since Ye Esther impulsively has bad thoughts, she must have been in pain herself, so she called the suicide prevention hotline for counseling." Ye Esther responded, "It helped. When I couldn't sleep past midnight, my symptoms worsened, but the counselor who answered the call was better trained than I expected and guided the conversation gently. Since it was anonymous, I could say things I had never been able to share in my life."
Ye Esther shared, "As menopause began, I started living separately, and I still live separately now. I don't want to show my struggles to my husband." Hong Hye-gul said, "When Ye Esther is alone, her expression is dark. But when I appear, she tries to smile because she is conscious of me. That's hard for her. I thought it would be better to be apart, so we ended up living separately." Ye Esther expressed her regret, saying, "If I've been suffering from depression for over 10 years, wouldn't my husband get tired too? It's contagious, so we live separately and meet occasionally. I'm sorry for suffering from depression for so long."
[Lee Se-bin, Star Today Guest Reporter]
