Thriving City, Struggling Citizens
By Chi Yan Ng
While the international hub of Hong Kong flourishes, the mental health of its citizens withers.
Imagine waking up one day to find that all of the confidence in yourself has vanished, that there is not the slightest chance that you can succeed anymore. Suddenly, every small task you have to perform feels like an unbearable burden on your body. This may seem unrelatable to you, but for those who struggle with various mental health illnesses, this is the reality that they fight to live through. When an individual’s mental health deteriorates to an extremely low point, they may start to question if life on Earth is even worth enduring the constant struggles.
Will we, those who are not affected by mental health illnesses, ignore their struggles and let them suffer? There are several methods that one can utilize in an attempt to relieve themselves from hitting that critical stage. However, some believe too firmly that there is no escape from reality, and that there is nothing they can do to live a better, healthier lifestyle.
Hong Kong is described as a vibrant city, with lots of bustling activities year-round, but is it truly a vibrant city when citizens aren’t feeling “vibrant”?
A bustling city is seen, yet the struggling citizens are hidden.
This could eventually lead to suicidal thoughts — the thoughts of those who unfortunately form the painful desire to end their life and break free from the struggles they face. There are numerous reasons why people have suicidal thoughts, including personal relationships, mental illnesses, depression and academic and work pressure. In Hong Kong, the most significant of these reasons are academic or work pressure, with people feeling unable to live up to societal expectations.
Hong Kong is known for its citizens’ hectic work schedule and commitment to their jobs, often working overtime. According to Bloomberg, in 2021 and 2022, Hong Kong ranked first and second respectively for the world’s most overworked city in the world. More specifically, 17.9% of full-time employees worked more than 48 hours per working week in 2022. As for secondary school students, the suicidal rates notably increased after the fall of the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-time resumption of in-person learning. 16 females below the age of 15 died of suicide in 2023, compared to 2 in 2022. This makes it evident that the students’ pressure to achieve parental expectations and societal expectations is beyond what they are capable of, and they are forcing themselves to prove their worth through their academic performance. Additionally, from an international school student’s perspective, local school students in Hong Kong are known to “spend hours a day on homework and test revision”, thus significantly reducing their time spent on self-relaxation, hobbies and socializing. The alarming statistics in recent years reflect the mental health crisis that affects a wide age range, from teenagers to middle-aged citizens.
If this is such a serious issue, why aren’t there methods in place to help those affected? Well, there are – but it simply isn’t promoted enough to Hongkongers, and because of their hectic work or study schedule, these services are often inaccessible to them. If you had to work overtime every day or spend hours on studying, and you were feeling unwell, would you have time to go out of your way to see a doctor or healthcare professional? People often think that a mental health illness is a temporary state of mind when in reality, it requires significant time and the right treatment to heal — just like if you caught a cold, you need to consume the prescribed medicine and rest adequately to let your body recover. If a mental health illness is left untreated over a long period, it could get worse and potentially cause suicidal thoughts.
You can help those who are unfortunately suffering from depression or other mental health illnesses and have experienced suicidal thoughts by listening to their struggles and offering your support. Just your presence and your willingness to support their path in recovery can motivate them to either work towards a better mental state or reach out towards professionals such as school counselors, mental health professionals or simply their parents, close family members or a trusted adult, who will be able to further guide them towards a brighter future.
As for teachers, perhaps consider meeting the needs of your students rather than expecting them or requesting them to meet your standards. Sometimes, students simply aren’t at the skill level or mentally ready to move on to more challenging topics, as a Year 11 student interviewed said: consider “being patient [with them] and going through the teaching material slowly” and clearly, even when pieces of information seem to be too straightforward for their level. There could also be individual check-ins to ensure that a struggling student has a chance to express their mental health state, and this could be regulated at different times of the year, especially towards testing seasons when nerves are high. This would allow those students who have mental health illnesses yet are too nervous to reach out for support to do so more comfortably.
Not only are the suicide rates of secondary school students shockingly high, but the rates for working-class adults are too. This is why a bigger representative has to get involved: the government. To prioritize its citizens' health, campaigns should be hosted to promote organizations or services which target mental health illnesses, so that they are more widely known. The prevention of smoking and drug addictions has recently been promoted widely in transportation services and shopping malls, yet mental health is in a similar crisis. If there aren’t enough to support struggling citizens and decrease the suicidal rates in a few years, then more government organizations should be founded and discussions held to source solutions for this crisis. It should not be solely citizens' and private organizations' responsibility to work towards this goal; everyone needs to play their part.