BOSTON, MA -- According to the World Health Orgniaztion (WHO) and Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.
根據世界衛生組織和美國焦慮和抑鬱症協會的相關信息,焦慮性障礙是全美最常見的心理健康疾病,在美國境內每年影響18.1%的成年人口,約為四千萬18歲及以上的成年人。焦慮性障礙易於被治癒,但只有36.9%的患者獲得治療。
Someone with an anxiety disorder may also suffer from depression or vice versa. While different types of mental disorders are seen among college students, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder are on the top of the list.
患有焦慮性障礙的人也可能患有抑鬱症,反之亦然。大學的校園裡可以看到不同種類的心理疾病,和抑鬱症往往居於榜首。廣泛性焦慮障礙(GAD)和重度抑鬱障礙是大學生中最常見的心理疾病。
Research shows that nearly 1 in 5 university students are affected with anxiety or depression. Technology, social factors, drug and alcohol misuse, homesickness and financial reasons are believed to be the factors that contribute most to such trend.
研究發現美國境內的大學中,5人之間就會有1人受焦慮或抑鬱症狀影響。技術發展、社交問題、毒品和酒精濫用、思鄉和經濟問題被認為是導致這個情況的重要因素。
With international students coming from cultures around the globe where meantal health isn't even a topic of conversation, schools and colleges in the US are seeking to hire more diverse mental health professionals.
國際留學生來自於世界各地不同的背景,很多文化亦不對心理健康問題作任何討論。很多大學因此正在招聘來自不同背景的心理健康專家。
By Catherine Yuxiao Zhang
It comes with no omens. Just like many Chinese students at Boston University, I was loaded with a bunch of readings, papers and presentations. I was walking on a string, and suddenly, the string broke. I couldn’t get up and eat; I couldn’t go to classes. I lost the vitality to walk simply out of my dim dorm room. It’s the symptom of depression.
它到來得沒有一點徵兆。就如同許多在波士頓大學學習的中國學生一樣,大捆大捆的閱讀,論文,和演講每天都負載在我肩上。我仿佛正行走在一根細線上,然後突然之間,這根線斷了。我起不了床,吃不下飯,也無法去上課。我甚至失去了僅僅是走出我那昏暗宿舍的活力。這是抑鬱症的症狀。
A week later I went to BU Behavioral Medicine. I was afraid of being treated as a psycho-pass. I dared not to tell my parents, but the US counselor there said in a relaxing voice: 「Well, that may happen in your culture, but not here.」
一周後,我去了波士頓大學的行為醫學中心。我害怕被當作一個「精神病患者」,我不敢告訴我的父母這些事。但那裡的一位美國心理諮詢師用輕鬆的語氣告訴我:「怎麼說呢,這種情況(指被當成精神病患者)可能會發生在你成長的文化裡,但不會在美國。」
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
Student Health Services at Boston University
波士頓大學學生健康服務中心
I realized the counselor didn’t understand my concern. Martha Tompson, a BU Individual Mental Health professor, said what Chinese students always need to confront is the small number of counselors who 「share language and culture」, and 「maybe that’s something we need to correct.」
我意識到這位心理諮詢師並沒有理解我的顧慮。Martha Tompson——波士頓大學一位研究個體心理健康學的教授——說,中國學生一直以來需要面對只有非常小部分的心理諮詢師「與他們有相同的語言和文化」的情況,並且「也許這是我們需要去糾正的一件事」。
Mental health issues are not unusual among Chinese students in American. According to the 2013 survey by Yale researchers, 45 percent of Chinese international students on campus have the symptom of depression, and 29 percent have the symptom of anxiety. Comparing to roughly 13 percent for depression and anxiety among all students in US colleges, Chinese students』 mental health condition seems to be worse than ever.
心理健康問題對於在美國的中國學生來說並不少見。耶魯大學2013年的調查顯示,45%在其校園裡學習的中國留學生曾有過抑鬱症的症狀,29%有過焦慮症的症狀。而在所有美國大學生中,大約只有13%的學生有過以上兩種症狀。與此相比,中國留學生的心理健康問題看上去比任何時候都要嚴重。
However, Chinese students』 problems can’t be solved efficiently. On one hand, they don’t actively reach the counselors —Yale’s survey reports that only 4 percent of Chinese students have ever tuned to counselors for help. But more importantly, even among these 4 percent of students, some students always find the service does not meet their requirements.
然而,中國留學生的問題並不能被有效的解決。一方面來說,他們本身不主動向心理諮詢師尋求幫助——耶魯大學的調查反饋說,只有4%的中國留學生聯繫過心理諮詢師尋求幫助。但更重要的是,就算在這4%的學生裡,很多學生依舊發現,學校的心理諮詢服務並不能滿足他們的需求。
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
"Welcome to Boston" Slogan in front of Boston Airport Terminal E. 62,926 foreign students are currently enrolled in an educational program in the state of Masdachusetts.
波士頓機場航站樓E門口的歡迎廣告。麻薩諸塞州目前共有62,926名國際學生就讀。
I used to be one of those 4 percent of students. Back to my experience, the counselor certainly heard about that Chinese culture used to demonizing depression symptom, but he didn’t know how to act upon it, due to the lack of cultural knowledge. The concern always exist as long as I come back to China. Staying in the US is not an effective solution.
我曾經是這4%的學生中的一員。回到我的經歷,我所遇見的心理諮詢師顯然聽說過中國文化裡對抑鬱症狀有妖魔化的傾向,但他並不知道如何針對此給出解決方法,因為他缺少對中國文化的了解。只要我回了國,我對自己會被如何對待的顧慮就會一直存在。待在美國並不是一個有效的解決方法。
Cultural differences are the barriers to getting help. The US counselors in BU Behavioral Medicine can’t always understand why Chinese students care so much about GPA. Some of them think it can’t define whether a student is successful or not.
文化差異是獲得有效幫助的阻礙。就像在波士頓大學行為醫學中心的心理諮詢師們總是不能理解為什麼中國學生這麼在意他們的績點一樣。一些心理諮詢師認為,績點並不能用來判定一個學生是否成功。
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
Flag of China in Boston Airport. In the academic year of 2016/17, 328,547 students from Mainland China are studying in the US. The numer represents 32.5% of total international students on F-1 Visas.
波士頓機場內掛的中國國旗。在2016/17學年,中國內地共有328,547名學生在美國就讀,佔所有持F-1學生籤證國際學生總人數的32.5%。
But what they don’t know is Chinese parents see academic performance as the payoff of the tuitions, and BU’s full-tuition is extremely high. 「You want to please your parents because they have sent you all the way to here,」 said Tompson.
但他們不知道的是,中國家長們把孩子的學術表現看作是他們對學費的回報,而波士頓大學的學費非常之高。「你會想讓你的父母開心,因為他們花了很大的力氣把你送到這裡(美國大學)來」,Tompson說。
Distance is also the problem. 「The causes of the mental health issues are mostly social causes, like being far away from home,」 said Tompson. 「Skype isn’t as the same as going out for lunch.」 How can a counselor in an environment full of social support be able to console someone who is not?
距離也是一個問題。「心理健康問題的原因很多是一些社會原因,比如說遠離你的家庭」,Tompson說。「遠程視頻和一起面對面出去吃頓午餐是不一樣的」。試想,你該如何讓一個處在社會支持豐富的環境裡的心理諮詢師去安慰那些不在這種環境裡的人呢?
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
Boston University's Summer II semester is in session, with an open enrollment policy for international students.
波士頓大學第二個夏校學期早已開始,並對國際學生持有開放招生政策。
Another thing is language. Chinese students are learning in English exclusively. 「It puts a demand on your language even if you are good [at it],」 Tompson said. 「There are huge academic stresses.」
另一個值得思考的問題是語言。中國學生正用英語進行大量的學習。「這非常考驗你的語言能力,即使你的英語很好」,Tompson說。「這帶來非常大的學術壓力」。
However, if English causes Chinese students' mental health issues, how can they describe their concerns, ironically, in English and to native Englishspeakers? The broken language may only cause more frustration and misunderstanding.
然而,諷刺的是,如果是英語本身造成了中國學生們的心理健康問題的話,那他們該如何向母語是英語的人用英語描述他們的焦慮?中國學生們詞不達意的語言也許只會造成更多的挫敗感和誤解。
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
International students from China checking in for their flight to Shanghai Pudong at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
來自中國的國際學生在波士頓洛根國際機場辦理值機,飛往上海浦東。
「When we match people on culture, they tend to do better in therapy,」 said Tompson. 「So, if I see up there are two therapists that are like me, I feel understood and I will be more likely to do well.」
「當我們以文化來配對人的時候,人們傾向在治療中做的更好」,Tompson說。「所以,如果我看到那裡有兩位治療師,和我相似的一位會讓我感受到被理解,我治療的表現好的可能性也會更大」。
Therefore, it is necessary for BU, and more US colleges, to think about introducing Chinese-speaking mental health counselors into the student health services. It is very difficult because there are very limited bi-lingual professional therapists.
因此,對于波士頓大學,以及更多的美國大學來說,考慮在學生健康服務中引進中文的心理諮詢師是必要的。這很艱難,因為雙語的專業諮詢師數量是非常有限的。
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
Student across the globe participate in Boston Universeity Pre-college Programs in Summer 2018.
來自世界各地的學生參加波士頓大學2018年大學預科夏季項目。
Tompson said there are almost 150 languages covered in Boston Mental Health Center, 「but how many bi-lingual or bi-cultural therapists are there?」 She said professionals need to work on training people to fill the gap.
Tompson說波士頓心理健康中心可涵蓋將近150種語言的心理諮詢,「但是有多少是雙語或者雙文化的治療師呢?」她說專業醫師們需要努力培養更多的醫師去填補這個空缺。
Though challenging, the introducing of counselors is not implausible. According to the New York Times, Ohio State University and Purdue University have already hired Chinese speaking mental health counselors targeting specifically on Chinese students.
雖然這很有挑戰性,但引進這樣的諮詢師並不是天方夜譚。紐約時報的報導稱,俄亥俄州立大學和普渡大學已經專門針對中國學生們聘用了中文心理諮詢師。
If you search on both universities』 official websites, you will find there are only approximately 9.7 percent of international students at Ohio State University. In Purdue University, among the 21 percent of international students, 34 percent are Chinese.
如果你在這兩所大學的官方網站上搜索,你會發現在俄亥俄州立大學中,只有9.7%的學生是國際學生。而在普渡大學21%的國際學生中,只有34%是中國留學生。
Zheng Zong / RSNews86
In the year of 2017, 4,705 students from China studies in Boston University. Such number represents 48% of total international students population at BU.
2017年,共有4,705名中國留學生在波士頓大學就讀,佔BU國際學生總人數的48%。
BU definitely has more Chinese students. Tompson said that 「25 percent of our students are international students, and a third of them is Chinese.」 In terms of demand and supply, BU even seems to be more urgent to call for special counselors.
作為全美第三大私立大學,波士頓大學顯然有更多的中國留學生。Tompson說, 「在我們學校,25%的學生是國際學生,而其中三分之一是中國人」。以供需平衡而論,波士頓大學似乎更迫切需要這種特殊的心理諮詢師。
「You wanna have counselors accessible to a lot of your students. That is important,」 said Tompson.
「你(指大學)會想要你的心理諮詢師可以被很多學生接受。這是非常重要的,」 Tompson說。
Written by Catherine Yuxiao Zhang, a journalism student in Boston University. This post is edited by Zheng Zong. Zheng Zong can be reached at zzong@bu.edu.
This is NOT a news report. POV is an opinion page that provides commentaries from our communities on a variety of issues: local and international. Anyone interested in submitting a piece, which should be about 1,000 words long, should contact Zheng Zong at zzong@bu.edu. RSNews86 reserves the right to reject or edit submissions.
本文並非新聞報導。POV系列是RSNews86基於國內外時事動態的社論作品。對投稿感興趣的讀者,應將約1,000英語單詞左右的作品發送至Zheng Zong (zzong@bu.edu)。RSNews86保留拒絕和修改作品的權利。
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