Start of semester weighs heavy on some students

• Source: Global Times
• [08:43 September 02 2010]
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Performers from Tibet Autonomous Region dance on the Baosteel Stage at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai Wednesday. A series of activities marked the beginning of Tibet Week at the Expo Park. Photo: Ray Yang

By Zhou Ping

Local doctors said Wednesday that they have been kept busy over the past few days with students suffering from anxiety as the pressures of academic life weigh on them before the start of the new semester.

The Shanghai Psychology Counseling Center has this week been receiving some 100 students every day, an increase of 25 percent compared to other times of the year, local media reported Wednesday.

Experts said Wednesday that the bulk of the patients are middle school students, who are feeling overly-stressed about their academic performance this year, while others are more concerned about meeting the high expectations of their parents.

"They're worried about the pressure they're going to be under soon, and many of them are panicking just at the thought of school life," Du Yasong, chief psychiatrist of Shanghai Mental Health Center, told the Global Times Wednesday.

Du, however, said that in some cases students are simply looking for a way to avoid facing the challenges of school. In such circumstances, parents should step in and communicate more with their child to help psychologically prepare kids for the year ahead, he said.

In more extreme cases, students have been dealing with the stress by refusing to eat, or by running away from home to escape overwhelming parental pressures, according to Qin Hai'ou, a counselor at Shanghai Zhiying Psychology Counseling Center. She said parents need to be careful about how they talk to their child.