Home>News Center>China
       
 

Psychological problems on the rise
By Wang Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-10-08 22:41

Working at least 13 hours a day, seven days a week, Beijing taxi driver Bai Fengshan finds life is too heavy a burden to bear.

Bai, 43, father of a middle-school boy, has to work hard to support a whole family.

His wife got laid off last year.

"I would have committed suicide if I had no children," Bai said.

The only way Bai has to ease the pressure of the everyday grind is to chat with his passengers.

However, many other people who are under high pressure might not be so lucky. They often find no one to talk to.


A psychological consultant talks with a female student in March, 2003 at the Psychological Care Centre for Adolescents in Ji'nan, capital city of East China's Shandong Province. Statistics suggest that nearly 10 per cent of children and adolescents in China, or 30 million, are inflicted with depression. [newsphoto]
Psychologists have warned that an increasing number of people suffer from psychological problems as China's urbanization gathers pace.

Loneliness, anxiety and depression are common problems for some urban people and migrant workers who often live on the fringes of urban society.

Recent media reports have recounted cases of college students who became murderers after minor confrontations with peers, migrant workers committing suicide after failing to obtain overdue wages and members of the social elite falling into mental depression.

Behind these incidents is an unhealthy state of individuals who fail to deal with an abruptly changing society in this transitional period, said Wang Dengfeng, a psychology professor with Peking University.

Many Chinese have seen their incomes increase tenfold, or even hundredfold, due to the economic boom in the past two decades.

But psychological studies show their desires for things also increased tremendously. In the process, their growing salaries are often not enough, Wang said.

Instead of feeling contented, they get frustrated and depressed.

Depression is the main cause of suicide, said Hui Xiaoping, an emergency physician with a Shanghai hospital, who has received more than 40 patients who tried to commit suicide since April.

Lack of psychologists a problem

"In a fast-paced modern society where people shoulder more pressure, suicide has become an expanding problem," Hui said.

The World Health Organization reports that about 1 million people commit suicide around the world every year, and the number of those who attempt suicide is 10 to 20 times larger.


Michael Phillips, executive director of the Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Centre, meet two elderly people on September 10 at a promotion activity about mental health. Phillips and his team found that risk of suicide was substantially greater in people with schizophrenia; about ten per cent of all suicides are attributable to schizophrenia. [newsphoto]

The worldwide suicide rate is about 16 per 100,000, making it the 13th most common cause of death. In China, the figures are equally distressing.

According to a survey by the Beijing Psychological Crisis Research and Intervention Centre, more than 200,000 people in China take their own lives every year.

The suicide rate in China is more than 20 per 100,000, making it the fifth cause of death in the country. Women in rural areas make up the largest group of suicide victims.

Emotional release is an essential phase in suicide intervention, Wang, of Peking University, said.

Venting depression and anger through discussion with psychological professionals is a good way to prevent suicide attempts.

However, psychological services in China are inadequate, with a shortage of trained specialists and no professional standards, said experts attending a national psychologists convention in Shanghai in September.

They said it is estimated that 20 per cent of China's 1.3 billion people had psychological problems. But there are only a few hundred professional psychologists to cope with the problems.

In Shanghai, with a population of 17 million, including 3 million migrant workers, there are only about 100 therapists.

Medical experts warn that long-term mental pressure harms the body's immune system and weakens people.

Many government health departments and non-government organizations have attached increasing importance to the psychological health of people in recent years as almost every big city across the country has established special mental counseling hotlines and websites.

Shanghai established its first suicide intervention group in early September. Dozens of trained volunteers lend a sympathetic ear and heart to those in need.



 
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

News analysis: Big prize builds on basic research

 

   
 

Hu, Bush discuss trade, Taiwan issue

 

   
 

Wen urges Viet Nam to handle ties properly

 

   
 

HK$660,000 stolen in e-bank scam

 

   
 

Bomb rocks Indonesia's Paris embassy

 

   
 

Beijing slams US report on human rights

 

   
  Wen urges Viet Nam to handle ties properly
   
  110 arrested for baby trafficking
   
  Hu, Bush discuss trade, Taiwan issue
   
  Air pollution denies Beijingers blue sky
   
  Holiday concludes with growing spending
   
  Chirac hopes visit strengthens partnership
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 777奇米影视视频在线播放| 久久精品国产精品国产精品污| 美女裸身正面无遮挡全身视频| 国产欧美va欧美va香蕉在线观看 | 东京无码熟妇人妻AV在线网址| 日韩精品无码免费专区午夜不卡| 亚洲成a人片在线不卡一二三区| 狠狠综合久久av一区二区| 动漫成年美女黄漫网站国产| 色噜噜狠狠色综合中文字幕| 国产在线精品一区二区不卡| 亚洲精品一二区| 国产精品蜜芽tv在线观看| 99福利视频导航| 太粗太长岳受不了了| 两个人看的www高清免费视频| 日本三级午夜理伦三级三| 久久机热这里只有精品无需| 最新中文字幕一区| 亚洲av永久中文无码精品综合 | 成年人免费看片网站| 久久五月天综合| 日韩在线精品视频| 亚洲av无码不卡久久| 欧美乱色理伦片| 亚洲国产欧美无圣光一区| 欧美精品一区二区三区视频| 亚洲综合亚洲国产尤物| 狠狠噜狠狠狠狠丁香五月| 人人色在线视频播放| 王爷晚上含奶h嗯额嗯| 免费a级黄色毛片| 男女爽爽无遮拦午夜视频| 免费人成视频在线观看不卡| 粗大的内捧猛烈进出小视频| 内射人妻视频国内| 精品午夜一区二区三区在线观看| 午夜三级A三级三点在线观看| 精品成在人线av无码免费看 | 99久久婷婷国产综合亚洲| 在线观看污污网站|