A problem shared is a problem halved for troubled students

By He Na (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-26 11:36

If you asked most people what May 25 or 525 means, they wouldn't have a clue but many college students know it as Mental Health Day.

They would probably also point out that if you pronounce the number 5-2-5 one by one in Chinese, it sounds similar to "wo ai wo" ("I love myself").

Established in 2000 by several universities in Beijing and approved by the Youth League Committee of Beijing, the College Students Mental Health Day has quickly developed into a nationwide event.

Employment is the theme of this year's Mental Health Day, since the economic downturn has left graduates with bleak job prospects.

The gloomy employment outlook has not only affected graduating students but younger students, too.

Even university freshmen have been going to psychological counseling centers to pour out their concerns about finding future employment.

"They have been scared by the overwhelming analysis on the tough job market and begun to worry about their future prospects" says Nie Zhenwei, director of Center for Psychological Counseling at Beijing Normal University.

In a bid to relieve the pressure on students and help them clarify their plans, several activities were carried out in the weeks leading up to Mental Health Day. For example, more than 200 lectures and speeches focusing on career planning, human communication and emotion management were given by a team of psychological experts.

"These lectures are very helpful in easing our stress about finding work," says Cheng Haisheng, a third-year education student at Beijing Normal University. "I hope more will be given in future."

Campus meetings between graduates and junior students were also held.

"It is not a bad thing for young students to be told early about the hard employment situation," Cheng added.

More than 60 universities and colleges in Beijing organized various activities on the subject. These included giving talks and watching movies and dramas with a psychological theme, in order to raise students' awareness of mental health issues.

This year is also the 20th anniversary of the Center for Psychological Counseling at Beijing Normal University, China's first university psychological counseling center.

It believes its experience in helping many youngsters, including its own university students, to cope with psychological problems could be useful to universities around the country.