Lu Lin: The problem of adolescent depression requires the attention of the whole society | World Mental Health Day

Lu Lin's nationwide survey shows that the prevalence of mental illness among primary and secondary school students aged 6 to 16 in my country is as high as 17.5%, of which the prevalence of depression is 3.0%. At the same time, there are also reports that the proportion of adolescent mental illnesses that receive appropriate diagnosis and treatment is less than 20%. Therefore, we must pay close attention to and attach great importance to the mental and psychological problems of children and adolescents, represented by depression.

Protecting the healthy growth of young people requires the joint participation and efforts of the whole society. At the national and social levels, we must accelerate the construction of medical resources for adolescent mental health services, promote the formation of a normalized and standardized graded diagnosis and treatment model for children and adolescents' mental health; strengthen the management capabilities of grassroots mental health institutions, and improve the utilization efficiency of mental health resources. At the same time, we must improve the construction of the psychological crisis intervention system and establish a normalized psychological rescue team for young people. The most important thing is to accelerate the development of disciplines and talent training, so that more outstanding medical students are willing to work in this field.

At the school level, we must strengthen the emphasis on mental health work, set up mental health education facilities in strict accordance with the relevant requirements of the education department, establish student mental health files, regularly organize psychological counseling teachers' mental health professional knowledge and skills training and assessment, regularly organize ordinary teachers to learn mental health knowledge, and improve the overall mental health education level of the teaching staff; carry out mental health publicity and education activities to improve the psychological quality and self-regulation ability of young people.

At the family level, parents should pay full attention to their children's mental health, strive to create a positive, harmonious and loving family environment, actively participate in their children's growth process, establish a close and trusting relationship and a good communication mechanism with them, listen to their thoughts and feelings, respect their personality and wishes, and make their children feel supported and understood. At the same time, we should take a scientific attitude towards mental health problems such as depression, understand the common symptoms, causes and coping methods of adolescent mental health problems, and help them deal with emotional problems in a timely manner. If parents find that their children have serious mental health problems, they should seek professional help in a timely manner.

(Author: Yan Wei and Lu Lin, Peking University Sixth Hospital)