At around 8:30 a.m., over 3,000 freshmen gathered in the school’s gymnasium, where Dr. Wang Long, director of the Psychological Consulting Center of Tsinghua University, was giving a lecture on psychological health.

When Dr. Wang mentioned the word yumen (depressed), many students laughed, showing how popularly it has been used while referring themselves. At the end, when Dr. Wang asked all the students to play a game -- shaking hands with their neighbors, the atmosphere warmed up. Many students flocked to shake hands with people around, but there were still some young people hesitated in doing so, and some even remained sitting alone.

As for the general situation of college students’ mental health, Dr. Wang said it is not optimistic. He pointed out that the freshmen at Tsinghua University, who used to be top students in high schools, are very likely to feel depressed because they have to face fierce competitions in class. Most of them are not psychologically mature enough to handle such problems as those emerged in studies, emotions and social relationships.

Dr. Wang suggested that students improve themselves by participating more social activities. “It is important in particular to know how to communicate with people of the opposite sex,” he said. “There should be a correct understanding of one’s love life, so that all students can enjoy happy courtships while concentrating on their studies.”

At the end of the lecture, a questionnaire containing as many as 60 questions was delivered to each student. Teachers at the psychological consulting center believe that major psychological problems will be exposed through answering these questions, such as if one is interested in one’s academic studies, if one is emotional and if one often suffers from headache or insomnia.

(china.org.cn by Zheng Guihong, November 21, 2002)