Youth Mental Health from a Youth Perspective — The Present

年青人眼中的青年精神健康 — 現在

By Ophelia Tam, Digital Content Officer, Mind HK

It is no surprise that young people in Hong Kong are facing high levels of stress and anxiety. Academic pressure, expectations from parents and teachers, interpersonal relationships, peer pressure, bullying, and transition phases are a few of many factors making youth more vulnerable to feeling anxious, depressed and over-stressed.

As part of a new blog series on youth mental health, I sat down with Mind HK’s summer interns to gain a more in-depth understanding of the many challenges they and other young people in Hong Kong face.

My first question was:

“How do you view youth mental health in Hong Kong?”

Here are some of their responses:

Jill — Grade 12, High-School Student

“I think it is pretty common for youth to have mental health problems nowadays, due to the increasing competitiveness at school and the current social status. These youth tend not to seek help from teachers and social workers at school because there is a stigma about mental health that you are ‘psycho’ or ‘not normal’ if you have mental health problems. Teens hate to be marginalised, so they may keep their feelings to themselves, even if they are not feeling well mentally.”

Yan — Year 4, University Student

“Overlooked. I have the feeling that youth feel that we have plenty of time and energy to cope, and mental health is not too big a deal. I also think of pressure: as a young person, I feel my efforts are never good enough, academically, financially, interpersonally and as a citizen.”

Ryan — Year 1, University Student

“Youth mental health is definitely not discussed enough locally. Many youth are reluctant to seek professional help or discuss their issues with others because it is such a rare discussion topic and a stigmatised subject. Moreover, Hong Kong can be a stressful city for many due to the competitive atmosphere in academia, recent social unrests and the coronavirus pandemic. There are likely many youth suffering from different mental health challenges, who are unable to receive appropriate support and treatment — this is for sure, a situation that needs addressing.”

Natalie — Year 4, University Student

“When I think of youth mental health in a local context, I feel that there is a lack of discussion and the topic is still taboo, despite being highlighted recently in the news. I believe that youth mental health should receive greater attention from society because the youth are the future pillars of society. Hence, their mental well-being directly affects our society. Therefore, youth mental health is something that the community should attach importance to in the same way it values productivity and economic growth.”

Eva — Form 6, High-School Student

“Due to the stressful, exam-focused education system in Hong Kong, more youth are experiencing different kinds of mental health problems. However, a lot of them are not willing to seek help. It is hard to speak out, and teens may think they can handle the problem themselves.”

Michelle — Year 1, University Student

“Mental health is a crucial aspect of our lives, and it concerns our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Especially for youth locally, pressure from peers, academics, parents or the social atmosphere, means our mental well-being needs to be made a priority. Expressing one’s mental illness might be difficult, due to social norms and the lack of knowledge on this issue.”

Melody — Grade 12, High-school Student

“I think of stress levels when we mention “youth mental health”. As youth have been very stressed in recent years, they faced different mental health challenges. This is largely due to self, parent and teacher expectations along with the competition among classmates and the imbalance of life and work. While they may be experiencing mental health problems, they might not know how to express their emotions. Existing labels and stigmas in our society prevent youth from expressing their needs and seeking help.”

Charlie — Year 3, University Student

“I think ‘youth mental health’ is probably one of the most frequently-talked aspects when it comes to mental health. It is probably because of the different challenges that young people have to face during adolescence. Although youth mental health is probably the most commonly mentioned mental health theme in Hong Kong, many young people in Hong Kong still avoid seeking help, as they are worried about being labelled by their peers and being looked down on by their family. “

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The existing stigma around mental health is still a huge barrier when it comes to youth seeking mental health support. Young people generally don’t feel comfortable talking about their problems with others, because they are concerned about possible judgements from their peers, teachers, and family; or feel reluctant to seek help based on the belief that they can handle it themselves.

Young people want to be able to discuss their mental health freely. As adults, we should support them by allocating more resources to build a safe and comfortable environment for open discussions about youth mental health. We should also take the time to open up ourselves and show that it’s okay to not be okay, and that seeking help is normal and encouraged.

This article is informative only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Support youth mental health and suicide prevention today: https://www.simplygiving.com/event/support_youth_mentalhealth_suicideprevention

For resources and stories on youth mental health, please visit: www.coolmindshk.com

For a list of emergency contacts, please visit: www.mind.org.hk/find-help-now/

For other local mental health services, please visit our Community Directory: www.mind.org.hk/community-directory/

For more information on mental health in Hong Kong, please visit: https://www.mind.org.hk/mental-health-in-hong-kong/

For more information on seeking help in Hong Kong, please visit: https://www.mind.org.hk/getting-help/

Questions? Email the team at media@mind.org.hk

香港青少年一直以來也面對著沉重壓力及感到焦慮 — — 學業壓力、父母及老師的期望、人際關係、朋輩壓力、校園欺凌、環境轉變……這也只是讓青少年倍感焦慮、抑鬱及過勞的冰山一角。

為更了解香港青少年正面對的困難及處境，我訪問了 Mind HK 的暑期實習生們對青年精神健康的看法。我提出的第一條問題是：

「你如何看待香港的青年精神健康？」

以下是他們的一些回應：

Jill，Grade 12

「我認為青少年經歷精神健康問題十分常見，原因可能在於同學間的競爭。以及目前的社會狀況。他們會因為害怕被標籤為「痴線」、「不正常」等有關精神健康的污名而不向老師或社工尋求協助。青少年亦很害怕被排斥、邊緣化，所以就算自己感到低落，亦會選擇將自己的感受藏於心上。」

Yan，大學四年級

「被忽視。我覺得青少年往往覺得自己仍有很多時間和精力應付問題，而精神健康亦不是什麼大事。除此之外，我亦會想到壓力：作為年青人，我覺得無論我做再多，我永遠都不夠好 — — 無論是在學業上、經濟上、人際關係以及作為一名市民亦然。」

Ryan，大學一年級

「我認為香港對青年精神健康的討論仍不足夠。因為有關精神健康的討論並不多，而且污名化問題亦十分嚴重，許多青少年不願尋求協助或與別人討論自己的問題。另外，對很多年青人而言，香港是個充滿壓力的城市：校園內充滿競爭氣氛、現時社會問題及疫情等更為他們增添許多壓力。有很多年青人可能正面對不同精神健康問題，卻無法接受妥當的支援與治療 — — 這正是一些要改善青年精神健康必須處理的問題。」

Natalie，大學四年級

「當我想起香港青年精神健康，我會覺得目前所缺乏的是有關就此議題的討論。雖然近日媒體對青年精神健康的關注越來越多，但精神健康這個議題仍被視為一個「禁忌」。我覺得青年精神健康需要獲得社會更多關注，因為年青人是社會未來的棟樑，而他們的精神健康對社會更有直接的影響。因此，社會必須正視青年精神健康問題，並像「經濟發展」或「生產力」等議題一樣給予同等關注。」

Eva，中學六年級

「很多青少年因為香港過於著重考試的教育制度而備受壓力，更面對不同精神健康問題。但很多學生亦不願意尋求協助，可能是因為青少年感到難以啟齒，而且他們亦認為自己有足夠能力應付這些問題。」

Michelle，大學一年級

「精神健康是我們生活中重要的一部分，它與我們的情緒、心理及社交健康息息相關。尤其當青少年面對來自是朋輩、學業、家長及社會的壓力，就更要優先照顧好自己的精神健康需要。但當受到社會對「正常」的規範，以及缺乏對精神健康的認知，表達自己的精神健康似乎難上加難。」

Melody，Grade 12

「當我們提起青年精神健康，我會想起壓力。青少年正面對著龐大壓力，這些壓力讓他們更容易受精神健康問題困擾。原因可能是在於自己、家人，以及老師的期望、同學之間的競爭和生活與課業的不平衡。也許他們正面對著精神健康問題，他們卻不知道如何表達自己的情緒。當然，社會上的標籤與污名更令青少年不敢表達自己的需要及尋求協助。」

Charlie，大學三年級

「我覺得「『青年精神健康』可能是在精神健康議題中最常被談及的議題之一，原因在於青少年在成長中面對很多不同的問題。雖然如此，許多香港青少年仍會因為擔心被朋友標籤或被家人看輕，而避免尋求協助。」

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精神健康的污名仍然是年青人尋求精神健康支援的一大障礙：他們因為擔心朋輩、老師，及家人的目光，而不敢與別人談及自己面對的問題；或者因為認為自己能獨力處理這些問題，而不想尋求協助。

青少年希望可以自由地討論自己的精神健康與困擾。而作為成年人，我們應該透過給予更多資源去建立一個安全及舒適的環境讓他們展開關於精神健康的討論，作為對他們的支持。我們亦應該以身作則，坦誠面對自己的感受，明白不好也沒關係 （It’s Okay to not be okay），鼓勵青少年在需要時尋求協助。

此文章內容僅為資訊分享，並不能替代專業醫療意見、診斷及治療。

支持青年健康及預防自殺：
https://www.simplygiving.com/event/support_youth_mentalhealth_suicideprevention

瀏覽更多青年精神健康資源及分享： www.coolmindshk.com

如需緊急協助，請瀏覽： www.mind.org.hk/find-help-now/

瀏覽我們的心理健康服務指南了解更多其他本地精神健康服務： www.mind.org.hk/community-directory/

如後查詢，請電郵至 media@mind.org.hk 聯絡我們。