More Chinese Have Mental Health Issues – Can They Get The Help They Need? | Insight | Full Episode
Mental health and illness have long been taboo subjects in China. But the country now wants to change this.
There are rising concerns over the psychological toll caused of COVID lockdowns, along with intense competition in the workplace and in schools. A nationwide survey conducted at the height of the pandemic found that nearly 35% of Chinese experienced psychological distress. One in four children aged between 10 and 19 had noticeable depressive symptoms.
In 2015, under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government published the second National Mental Health Workplan. A few years later, a Healthy China 2030 plan drew attention to mental health awareness. But in a country where still strong stigma around mental health remains, what will mental wellbeing mean?
00:00 Why are more Chinese reporting mental health issues?
01:18 A look inside the Shanghai Mental Health Center
05:10 China’s historical view of mental illness as a “bourgeois delusion”
06:13 How the Chinese government is addressing mental wellness
08:47 Depression and anxiety double in youth after COVID-19 crisis
12:27 996 workaholic culture vs rise of “lying flat” culture
17:48 Stagnant economy, high youth unemployment, social anxieties
22:31 Depressed Chinese youths
27:31 Rising suicide rates in Chinese children
31:50 Should youths just “toughen up”?
34:51 Inside an internet addiction bootcamp
36:35 Gaming addictions a result of stress?
40:22 Parents’ changing attitudes on depression
41:12 Art exhibition in Shanghai by mental health patients
43:07 Changing public perceptions of mental health issues
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44 Comments
Blame the CCP….
Eating too much Western packaged junk food which ruining physical chronic and mental illness.
996 is BRUTAL. we are not robots with no life.
people who work 996 probably don't even have enough savings for a comfortable retirement.
Asian academic credentialism & tiger parenting & social pressure is enough to kill. I refuse to live in Asia. Bye. Deeply traumatised
It's very important to work hard but to certain extent
At least China is working on it . Lots of Singaporean are experiencing depression and anxiety as well as stress of cost of living, stress from inflexibility on work, stress from being a sandwich generation, and stress from HDB flat getting more and more expensive. But I don't see anything being done here 😕
united states has already turned into a FECES Nation , who so bothered about China ???!
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' mainstream media are very fond of creating different narrative ,
spinning news to an opposite direction , taking viewers as fools … '
996 only applies when you actually own the company. From another perspective, this is just slavery.
Nowadays many people are loosing contact with the actual world. Good if we can be connected with nature; sunshine, sea, mountain… Kind, loving, straight, honest, compassionate people. These kinds of connections will only make us healthier and happy. Please, avoid 996 employment, just let it rot! Be nothing! Life then will just be very simple and beautiful. May all of you find real peace, thank you.
compared to people who struggle everyday worrying of money and survival, mental health is considered a luxury disease. only people who are in a comfortable position will start to worry of their mental health issues.
Rampant psychosis problem here in Beijing.
A close friend of mine, and one close relative, one of their close friends all have delusions.
None (so far) have sought treatment.
Parents and family members themselves who are in unrecognized mental problems and bad emotion identify and handling mechanism, which are mostly obtained from their parents and time era, sits in the core of the issue. However most of this group are unwilling to open to accept their own problems and have no idea this will impact their children.
There are many layers to healthy mental health. Just below the surface are usually what seems like the problem. Peel that layer off, another layer appears. It never seems to stop. Like an onion, you get closer to the core. Dismissing what wants to come out is not healthy, anxiety arrives quickly to cover it up… 🌷
It's all systemic stress y'all
CNA: China is experiencing dramatic growth (eg EV, AI), but at what cost?
.
Personal experience:
A friend of mine from my teenage years always wanted to show his parents that he was capable but they kept calling him useless because he had talents they didn't care for and weaknesses that they describe as a disgrace to the family.
He broke eventually and his parents threw him out. He already had terrible anxiety and this developed to severe depression and personality disorders.
Luckily me and my friends helped him out and we did what we could. He relies heavily on meds just to function but hey he lived. That's what matters. However, he has difficulties a lot of the times to get out of bed and doing simple things quite a bit. If he needed to talk to someone, I do what I can to speak to him.
In Asian culture especially, the moment you do anything that is considered a "disgrace to family" such as having a mental illness you're likely to be disposed off like that as my friend sadly went through. There are worse things in life than death itself.
To be honest i am not sure what causes mental issues. I used to think it was life pressure and life pressures but in country such as australia where life is less complicated, competitive and pressured, they have more and more people suffering from depression and mental issues.
WHEN YOU MOVED AWAY FROM THE TRADITIONAL KUNGFU AND MARTIAL ARTS MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTIONS AND SUCH THINGS HAPPENED. THIS IS NEGATIVE. I KNOW YOU AND IAM WATCHING YOU.THIS IS NOT PART OF KINGDOM. CHANGE OF HABITS.
It's not that more Chinese are having mental health issues now, it's that they are finally aware that the issues they have been experiencing since childhood is because of mental health, not because they are weak and soft like their parents tell them (e.g. look at your neighbour, he's getting straight A*s and playing 3 instruments and he's completely fine and happy)
a little correction. at 3:38 , the doctor mentions 6斤, which is equivalent to 3kg. he was using the chinese units of measurement.
46:18 The issue with 'toughen up' is that, its not a clear *solution* . 'Ignore your classmates' is a solution. What does 'toughen up' mean?
Maybe the grand daughter can learn to toughen up by ignoring her grandfather, but consider his opinions too….. because granddad is right about education. Move to a different school, or get a vocation certificate somewhere?
These mental health practitioners don't seem very good… you can tell from the way they talk about their patients and its extremely one dimensional.
Selalu menyimak dan subscribe
Very insightful documentary.
the CIA sinophobia propaganda machine was very happy with CNA doing their job for them
I’ve been suffering moderate depression.then I decided to flying flat
In the context of the current economic downturn driven by the CCP’s "involutionary" political policies and the deeply ingrained culture of social comparison, it is unsurprising that many, particularly young people who have grown up in a hyper-competitive educational environment, are experiencing heightened anxiety and uncertainty about their future. This pressure is compounded by exploitative labour practices, such as the infamous "996" work schedule, which demands long hours at the expense of personal well-being. The combination of economic strain, social pressure, and relentless work expectations could be described as a "capitalist CCP-style" syndrome—a fusion of capitalist exploitation and authoritarian control that leads to both psychological and economic stress.
The real challenge for the CCP is whether it can evolve beyond its rigid, patriarchal mentality and self-serving agenda to address these growing pressures before the label "Sick Man of Asia" resurfaces in a modern context. The regime’s current strategy—focused on maintaining control, stifling dissent, and perpetuating its top-down governance—only deepens societal frustrations and widens the disconnect between the state and its people. To genuinely alleviate these concerns, the CCP would need to take bold and unprecedented risks. Foremost among these would be abandoning its tight grip on power in favour of policies that promote individual well-being, safeguard labour rights, and foster social mobility.
Re-engaging with the international community, especially developed economies, is crucial for revitalising China's economic outlook and addressing domestic discontent. However, this would require the CCP to relinquish some of its authoritarian control and embrace reforms that encourage innovation, protect workers' rights, and open up the economy to more meaningful global collaboration. Yet, such changes would challenge the very foundation of the party's entrenched power structures, which thrive on centralization and corruption. Shifting away from a patriarchal, top-heavy governance model to one that empowers citizens and welcomes external influences is not just a political challenge but an existential one for the CCP.
The central issue is whether the CCP is willing to take the necessary risks to loosen its control in exchange for long-term stability, social harmony, and economic growth. Failure to do so not only risks further alienating the population but also increases the likelihood of internal unrest and prolonged economic stagnation. The question is not merely how the CCP can adjust its policies but whether it is capable of fundamentally reforming its approach to governance before the internal and external pressures it has created become too overwhelming to manage.
Here we go American drug conglomerates trying to sell drugs
while the USA suck the world to dry, Chinese has to work harder to earn a better life.
South Korea….Japan….. China…… let prices of property and everything else get too high…. started making it more difficult to do business….. and then allowed these social pressures to pile up on people…… many of these issues are created by poor economic policies and a corrupt system that favors corrupt officials, mixed with a social value worshiping materialism and social media instead of nature and creative thinking.
Wearing a mask all the time deprived of oxygen
It takes a few generations to reach a point where mental health issues are faced rather than shunned. Hold on there.
It’s going to be perfect if there’s English Subtitles.
Chinese govt already has a mental health issue. That's the main problem.
Thanks so much for covering mental health in China… It's actually a relevant issue all over the world too. Thanks again!
chynese wives are the worst case of mental illness. Ask any man married to one or a child of one and 95% will warn you to avoid.
too much social media brings stress to so many young people in order to get more and more followers. people need to go out and socialise with others in real life.
Spreading faster than natural evolution can. It will continue to increase even faster. Wait and see.
In Singapore also the same, worst is most of my friends including me have 2 non working old parents to take care of. Sometimes we can't help but to desire a sinister solution
Jones Jessica Lewis Edward Hernandez Betty
should go check american mental health ，China is ok ，