In China’s fierce race for success, mental health struggles are starting earlier
Moon Chen stared down at her textbook, struggling to make sense of the words on the page. The 15-year-old felt a suffocating weight press into her chest, while her heart fluttered erratically. Chen’s mother rushed her to a cardiologist – only to be told that she should see a psychiatrist instead. Chen, now in higher secondary school in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, vividly recalls…
Moon Chen, a student in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, experienced physical symptoms including chest tightness and heart palpitations before being diagnosed with depression and anxiety. According to Reuters Business via SCMP, the 17-year-old was initially taken to a cardiologist, but was subsequently advised to see a psychiatrist.
Experts suggest that increasing academic pressure on younger students is contributing to rising mental strain. This trend reflects broader societal competition for opportunities in China. A 2021 nationwide survey led by Beijing Anding Hospital found that 17.5 per cent of Chinese children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders, with anxiety and depressive disorders being among the most common.
Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post, Reuters Business via SCMP — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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