01
At the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Department of Beijing Anding Hospital, CCTV reporter Zhuang Shengchun witnessed a heartbreaking dialogue.
“How have you been recently?”
“Haha, tried to commit suicide a few days ago, unsuccessful, had stomach washed out.”
How much helplessness and despair are hidden behind this sentence?
Many parents rushed to the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Department of Anding Hospital from all over the country, their faces filled with confusion and anxiety.
Their questions flooded towards the doctors like a tide: “Does this mean a lifetime of medication? Will they be able to return to normal life in the future?”
A nine-year-long tracking survey revealed even more concerning data: the overall incidence rate of mental disorders among students aged 6 to 16 in schools is as high as 17.5%.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, as children studying at home are not included in the statistics.
Parents even need to time their registration, fighting over appointments, indicating the scarcity of medical resources.
02
Why is there a trend of mental health issues at a younger age?
To find answers, CCTV reporter Zhuang Shengchun attended a summer camp specifically for families affected by depression.
There, children described the moment of depression in their own words: “It’s like being curled up into a ball, locked in a box, slowly sucking the air out of the box.”
Or “some complicated and strange fantasies, constantly playing in your mind.”
For those being “pulled” by depression, they not only need medication and treatment but also understanding and support.
What they hope to hear is, “I am here, I understand your pain, we will get through this together.”
However, depression is not just a personal battle; it also brings enormous challenges to families.
Like 18-year-old Xu Haoran, he dropped out of school due to severe depression, staying locked in his room all day, refusing to leave the house.
His mother described that period: “It felt like the sky was falling, my child just lay down without saying anything.” Her expectations for her son have turned into a source of despair.
In an interview, Haoran recounted a story.
Once, during final exams, Haoran didn’t erase his answers on the answer sheet properly, causing the machine to misread them. The teacher thought Haoran had changed his answers.
Haoran called his mother, “I said I felt wronged, very wronged, but when the teacher called her, she said yes, yes, we know we made a mistake.”
“Between me and my mom at school, she definitely sided with the school 100%, she had to agree with the teacher regarding me.”
Haoran said, “I felt like no one was standing behind me” and “very painful.”
After Haoran’s illness, Haoran’s mother self-studied psychology, reflecting on her relationship with her son.
She said that she used to think her relationship with her son was good, but later hearing from her son, it seemed not as good as she thought, “lamentable.”
Fortunately, now, both mother and son have begun to rediscover themselves and each other.
03
A girl with depression clashed with her father because she wanted to “raise snakes and spiders.”
For many parents, when their child expresses a desire to raise snakes or spiders, their initial reaction is that the child is just looking for trouble. Why keep these unusual things?
After discussing deeply with the girl, the psychiatrist discovered that behind this request was the girl’s yearning for companionship and stability.
Reptiles might be a substitute for companionship for her. Behind the seemingly “strange” requests of children are needs and loneliness that parents may not have noticed.
Even in urban areas, there is a new form of left-behind children, where parents may be present, but the quality of companionship may not be high.
Many parents are busy with work, leaving for work before their children wake up, coming home only after the children are asleep, with minimal time for communication, let alone companionship.
Xiao Jie, 16, both parents are executives, busy with work and often work overtime. Xiao Jie has been taken care of by a nanny since childhood, materially provided for but emotionally feeling empty.
As he entered adolescence, facing the pressure of academics and social relationships, this sense of emptiness was magnified endlessly, eventually leading to his depression.
How can children be provided with high-quality companionship so they don’t become “mentally left behind”?
Indeed, parents are busy now, busy with work, providing for the family, bearing heavy stress.
However, for children, the societal pressures on parents, the emotions brought home, and judgments on their children’s experiences often act as triggers for their sickness.
Parents should be the children’s most important sanctuary.
In family education, standing with the child is crucial. It is not just their support in growth but also the greatest source of courage for them in facing difficulties.
04
The mental health issues of teenagers require not only medical resources but also the support of families, schools, and society as a whole.
On the family level, parents need to learn to listen, not just hear what their children say, but also understand the emotions and needs behind their words.
Like the transformation of Haoran’s mother, who self-studied psychology, trying to understand her son’s pain and loneliness from his perspective, this effort not only healed their relationship but also laid a warm foundation for Haoran’s recovery journey.
High-quality companionship is not just about spending time together but also about emotional resonance and support.
As the children’s second home, schools play an equally important role.
Schools should establish a more comprehensive mental health education system, not only by offering mental health courses but also by training teachers to be students’ “spiritual guides,” able to keenly sense students’ emotional changes and provide timely intervention or guidance for seeking professional help.
Create a tolerant and empathetic learning atmosphere, allowing each child to feel accepted and valued.
At the societal level, through policy guidance and social advocacy, reducing prejudices and misunderstandings about mental health issues and increasing public awareness of conditions like depression and other mental disorders, creating a supportive social environment.
The media can share positive stories, showcase recovery cases, convey hope and positive energy, encouraging people to confront and actively address mental health challenges.
Ultimately, building a comprehensive and multi-layered protective network for the mental health of teenagers requires the joint efforts of families, schools, and society.
Every individual is a key link in this process. Parents should be the most solid support for their children, schools should be a harbor for their minds, and society should be a vast expanse of understanding and care.
As revealed in the story of the girl and the snakes and spiders, behind every seemingly “strange” behavior may lie a deep-seated yearning for love and companionship from the child.
What children truly need is not just material provisions but that simple and pure understanding and companionship.
Every child deserves to be loved, understood, and treated gently; this is the most powerful force for their healthy growth and bravely facing the storms of life.
