Alarm rung over percentage of students suffering from depression

A high number of children are also being misdiagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

The 2014 Juvenile Health Report 2014 stated that depression was the most common cause of illness and disability in adolescence (10-19 years old). More than half of symptoms of mental disorders appear before the age of 14, but they are often missed. 

In Vietnam, a survey conducted by the Day Psychiatric Hospital in Hanoi of more than 1,200 students (primary and secondary school) found that nearly 19.4 percent of students have general mental health problems. 

Among suicide cases, 10 percent occurred with children between the ages of 10 and 17, mainly due to school pressure.

Most recently, an eighth grader in Quang Binh province committed suicide by jumping into the river after her mother repeatedly complained that she could not solve all of the exam questions.

An excellent student at the Nguyen Khuyen High School for the Gifted suffered from depression because his parents urged him to study.  He has been hospitalized.

Earlier this year, a seventh grader in Ha Tinh province killed herself because her school records had become worse as she wrote in her suicide note.

Psychology experts all agree that the proportion of students suffering from depression is on the rise. 

Every day, the Mental Health Institute under the Bach Mai Hospital receives 200 patients, including many students aged 15-16.

The big problem is that 80 percent of patients cannot get early treatment because their symptoms are missed.

There are many reasons that cause depression in students, but school pressure is the most common. 

The suicide letters left by students show that they did not want to live because they could not continue studying as requested. This coincides with the fact that a lot of suicide cases occur after tough exams, which play an important role in students’ lives.

“Bearing pressure from families, living environment and learning activities while lacking life experience, students choose to conduct self-destructive behavior as a solution to escape their problems,” said Vu Thu Huong from the Hanoi University of Education.

The number of children with depression, anxiety, and emotional disturbances as a result of school pressure is also on the rise. Children in Vietnam spend a lot of time on studies.

Meanwhile, according to Nguyen Phuong Hoa from the Hanoi Medical University’s Hospital, parents admit that they don’t have time to talk with children and disregard children’s problems.