Academic pressure

Li Nian, a junior majoring in Social Work at the University of Science and Technology in Beijing, was one of those teenagers who experienced severe depression, confusion, and stress during her high school years.

As a high achiever, Li used to be in the top five of her class and excelled at schoolwork. But this did not offer her enough joy or any sense of achievement. Instead, she became increasingly weary of school, and was stressed out by countless exams. She would motivate herself to work harder for her future, but the perceived setbacks seemed harsher and increasingly unbearable.

With high academic expectations imposed by herself, the school, and her family, Li felt "pressure rushing toward her like tidal waves".

For a period during her high school years, Li cried every day. She described feeling like her chest was being constricted by a gust of air that she couldn't breathe out. At her worst, she sat stiffly in her bed for nearly an hour.

Li initially sought help from her parents but received no sympathy and was admonished. "You are not depressed," Li recalled was her parents' initial reaction. "You are not like the depressed girl we saw on a TV drama," they told her.

It was only when she texted her father from school telling him she had suicidal thoughts that her parents took her to the hospital. Li was diagnosed with moderate depression and began receiving professional treatment including counseling, and later medication.

Her depression, though still recurrent, has been significantly ameliorated compared with the most difficult times back in high school. However, her situation and history of adolescent depression are shared by many young people.