Table 2.

Perceptions of Depressive Symptoms

Themes	Subthemes	Sample statements
Feelings of helplessness	Feeling sad and helplessness	“[Depression is when] you feel helplessness, especially when it concerns personal issues, and you have few people to talk with. You feel sad.” “We Cantonese care about face. You would end up not talking about your problems and feel even worse than you really are. One would just close the door and cry, and feel bad about oneself.”
Feelings of dissatisfaction with life	Psychological distress	“In our building there is an old lady. She is never satisfied with her life and is always complaining and whining about everything. For the last two decades she never visited downtown. It is because she does not know how to get there.”
	Immigration distress	“For those who are here for over a couple of decades, they can have retirement benefits, food coupons and Medicare. These are very nice. But for me who has only been here for three years, having no money and being dependent on your children is no fun in your daily life. For me this is very depressing.”
Feelings of getting bored	Having nothing to do	“Old people don’t feel happy because old people here tend to feel bored in their apartments.” “Depression is when one has nothing to do. Or when one has too much free time and does not know what to do and has nothing to do. If one has nothing to do, it will make a person bored and sad.”
Loss of interests in activities	Abandoning interest in hobbies and activities	“A depressed person would be like my husband’s brother-in-law. He had no interest in learning new things. He did not read like he used to. He watched TV all day. He did not exercise. He did not interact with other people. He lost track of time and did not eat meals at regular time.”
Suicidal ideation	Suicidal thoughts and attempts	“I heard one old man say that it is better to die and die fast. But he is still alive. Actually I could relate to the feeling of that person.” “I wanted to die at that time when I was really ill and upset. I needed someone to help me take a bath. I needed someone to help me clean myself after using the washroom. But it was not right to get help all the time.”
Feelings of worthlessness	Loss of self-worth	“I have experienced a time when I was not able to be independent. I did feel like giving up because I felt so worthless … . I knew I was sick.”