School depression warning

A recent study shows that up to 1/4 of students have mental health problems due to many pressures such as studying, achievements, and goals imposed by family.

Recently, a 16-year-old boy jumped from a shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City, causing the community to grieve. More surprisingly, a note was found next to the victim's body with a heartbreaking message: Tired of life, wanting to be freed.

Fall into a psychological black hole

According to psychologists, the development of quality of life leads to economic pressure and a busy work schedule, making many parents have no time to connect and share with their children, especially families in urban areas and big cities. According to statistics in 2024, 1/4 of students have mental health problems. The cause comes from study pressure, goals from family or sometimes set by the students themselves. To "heal" themselves, many middle and high school students have turned to groups on social networks. Many sad stories and thoughts are shared by students using anonymous accounts. "I know my parents have worked very hard to take care of my studies, although I have tried, I cannot bring pride to my family. I have studied a lot but it is still not enough" - an 8th grade student confided.

Psychologist Dao Le Hoa An - member of the Advisory Board for Policy and Law for Youth of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union - said that he once received a case of a 6th grade male student who came to ask experts to help his 9th grade sister escape a period of negative thinking because he heard his sister planning to commit suicide. Through investigation, the two students were students at an international school in Ho Chi Minh City, their parents worked far away and the family had a housekeeper to take care of them. "Parents try to earn a lot of money so that their children can have good conditions to study and develop their future, but adults forget that children still need to nurture their spirit, and it is easy to feel lonely and disappointed..." - Dr. Hoa An warned.

As a homeroom teacher of grade 11 at Nguyen Huu Cau High School (Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City), Mr. Nguyen Minh Hieu said that parents often put too much hope on their children, putting on their children a "shirt" that is too big in terms of achievements. This unintentionally pushes children into a huge psychological black hole. "Every time I give out a test, I always observe the students' expressions. They rarely confide in teachers about their "dark corners". Therefore, teachers must be proactive in asking and listening. If necessary, teachers will be the bridge to convey students' feelings to parents and vice versa to make them feel more comfortable. In addition, the school also opens a love connection room for students with psychological problems to share and resolve their difficulties. If they are afraid of direct dialogue, students can confide via text messages, emails..." - Mr. Hieu informed.

Parents are very important in the physical and personality formation of children.

Prevent the last drop from overflowing

The Vice Principal of a secondary school in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, said that academic pressure is one of the common causes of stress for students, but it is not the only cause. In addition to studying, there are many other factors that affect students' psychology, such as family expectations, comparisons with friends, exam pressure, friendship and love problems, and even family problems.

"Middle school age, especially grades 8 and 9, is a period of important psychological transformation. Students at this age often want to assert themselves but lack experience in controlling their emotions, leading to psychological vulnerability," the school's leaders warned.

With many years of research in the field of clinical psychology of children and adolescents, psychologist Dr. Nguyen Thi Dieu Anh, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU-HCM, Vietnam - France Psychology Institute, affirms that depression is not a sudden phenomenon.

In fact, depression is the result of the accumulation of past traumas, which have not been recognized and dealt with at a young age. Only when there is a strong impact in the present, like the last straw, do these latent problems become activated, especially in adolescence. "Human mental resilience is very strong, one problem cannot knock a person down. But many problems that are not resolved for a long time will cause people to explode, their mental health will decline and they may fall into depression" - Dr. Dieu Anh warned.

Regarding the manifestations of depression, there are some important signs to note. The first is a decline in mood, loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyed, and more seriously, suicidal thoughts. According to Dr. Dieu Anh, if mental health is not properly recognized, it will be very difficult for adults to detect these signs in children. Cases that go to the hospital for treatment are often in a serious stage.

"Many people do not dare to go to the hospital for treatment because they are afraid of gossip and discrimination. The community needs to have a more open and correct view of mental health. Besides physical health, mental health is also extremely important but is often neglected due to social prejudices" - Dr. Dieu Anh emphasized.

According to Dr. Hoa An, with the current development of technology, children can easily access negative information and learn from it. To avoid the domino effect, parents need to pay more attention to their children's emotions - pay attention but not supervise, be considerate but not impose.

Sometimes, just a question from parents like: "Are you okay?", "What fun things happened at school today?" or simply a warm hug can be a great support for children. "Caring for your child's mental health is not only a responsibility but also a journey to grow up with your child, helping them build strong inner strength to face challenges in life" - Dr. Hoa An advised.

Warning signs

According to a survey, up to 18% of children aged 12-16 have self-harmed at least once in their lives. Of these, 6% of children at this age have self-harmed multiple times. A study by the US National Institute of Mental Health also showed that children who frequently isolate themselves, engage in self-harming behaviours or share negative thoughts on social networks are "red flags" that require immediate intervention.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/bao-dong-tram-cam-hoc-duong-196250321221508141.htm