Under pressure: the rising crisis among Hong Kong students
Increasing student stress is cause for alarm for many, but experts are offering coping mechanisms and positive perspectives to improve mental health
According to a 2024 survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 45 per cent of students polled identified their stress levels between seven and 10. These results demonstrated the first increase in four years. With stress levels on the rise, so too are the physical and mental consequences. These can range between sleep disruptions, headaches, changes in appetite, irritability, withdrawal and feelings of hopelessness.
On Monday, it was reported that an 11-year-old boy in Tuen Mun died after falling from a height. Police found a suicide note that could link the tragedy to academic pressures.
“Stress affects students deeply, emotionally and academically,” explains Evgeny Evseev, counsellor at The Harbour School. “Too much stress can cause anxiety, disrupt concentration, trigger mood swings and interfere with sleep, all of which can block learning and motivation. Yet when stress is managed well, it can energise students, sharpen their focus, and help them succeed.”
Rachel Gregory, school psychologist at Harrow International School Hong Kong, adds that extensive stress can also have academic consequences, with students “sadly underachieving due to the level of chronic stress they have placed on themselves and the detrimental mental health impact this can have”.
And while stress is an inherently complex phenomenon often loaded with negative connotations, it is in its very essence a neutral force. “The simplest definition is that stress is a biological response to something that is happening to you. Stress can be seen as neither positive nor negative – the feeling or emotion comes from how we interpret those physical sensations,” explains Shelagh Hockley, head of guidance at Canadian International School of Hong Kong.
“We all experience stress, and we cannot avoid this,” says Gregory, explaining that stress signals the need for a change or management of a situation. “In the short term, during periods of acute stress, we need to adapt to the situation to help us cope with this and build resilience,” she says. “However, if stress continues to develop and it is more long-standing, it can develop into chronic stress that can lead to poor physical and emotional health.”