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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ABOUT THE SHOW: Insight investigates and analyses topical issues that impact Asia and the rest of the world.
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