China long avoided discussing mental health. The pandemic changed that
By Vivian Wang and Javier C. Hernández New York Times,Updated December 22, 2020, 12:42 a.m.
Email to a Friend
People wearing face masks used their mobile phone on a subway in Beijing on Saturday.NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images
Chinaâs fight against the coronavirus was mostly over, but Zhang Xiaochun, a doctor in Wuhan, was sinking into depression, convinced she had failed as a daughter and mother. She agonized over her decision to keep working even after her father fell critically ill. She worried about her young daughter, whom she had frequently left alone at home.
China’s fight against the coronavirus was mostly over, but Zhang Xiaochun, a doctor in Wuhan, was sinking into depression, convinced she had failed as a daughter and mother. She agonized over her decision to keep working even after her father fell critically ill. She worried about her young daughter, whom she had frequently left alone at home.
But rather than hide those feelings, as would have been common just a few years ago in a country where mental illness has long been stigmatized, Dr. Zhang consulted therapists. When friends and colleagues checked in on her, she openly acknowledged that she was struggling.