In recent times, there has been a surge in the sales of antidepressant drugs in China, accompanied by long queues at a plush toy cafe in Shanghai. Analysts attribute this trend to the mental health issues sparked by the repression under the Communist regime.
According to insights from the Data Research Institute, an article titled “Antidepressant Drugs Selling Like Hotcakes” was recently published online, revealing the firsthand experiences of a girl using the pseudonym Maicao. She found that while working out at the gym for therapy, 3 out of 10 people around her were fellow patients. At hospitals, waiting rooms were packed with people, and delays of up to an hour for consultations were common. The number of severe mental illness patients is on the rise, with four to five nurses overseeing over seventy patients at the inpatient department.
Online shopping platforms show that sales of common antidepressant drugs are skyrocketing, with some products experiencing a five-fold increase in sales within 30 days. The Data Research Institute stated that sales of antidepressant drugs in public medical institutions in China reached a record high of over 9.1 billion yuan last year, a 6% year-on-year increase.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Johnson Pharmaceuticals ranked among the top three in the first-tier group of antidepressant drugs with their Agomelatine tablets. Jingwei Pharmaceuticals achieved a sales volume of 700 million with their Escitalopram tablets, and Green Leaf Pharmaceuticals saw a staggering 99.9% surge in sales with their exclusive new drug Trazodone hydrochloride sustained-release tablets.
It is evident that the number of depression sufferers in China is a significant and growing population. According to a Chinese mental health survey, the lifetime prevalence of depressive disorders in adults is 6.8%, estimating the total number of lifetime depression sufferers in China to reach 95 million. The “2023 China Mental Health Blue Book” pointed out a 10.6% risk detection rate for depression and a 9.5% treatment rate. According to WHO data, 91.4% of mental illness patients do not receive professional treatment.
According to the insights from the Data Research Institute, young people are generally facing pressure related to issues such as buying cars, houses, and finding partners, leading to overworking and staying up late for the sake of survival. Other groups, including elderly people left behind, middle-aged individuals who have been laid off, and teenagers struggling with academic burdens, may all be dragged into emotional lows due to invisible stresses.
Overseas self-media personality Tang Jingyuan, who was previously a doctor in China, explained to a reporter that depression can be caused by various factors, including biological reasons like hormonal imbalances or mental factors such as low self-esteem and pessimism. However, the primary and most significant cause of depression is the external pressure and tension created by the environment.
“This pressure is comprehensive… such as the inability to earn money, long-term unemployment, massive mortgages, car loans, medical expenses, and raising children, all these factors lead to a person constantly being in a stressful environment.”
He further elaborated that deteriorating relationships between individuals, where survival conditions worsen, leading to a lack of trust even among close relatives and friends, subsequently creating an environment of suspicion and defenses against one another.
In recent years, the collapse of thousands of households in the real estate sector has resulted in a significant number of people facing uncertain futures. Tang Jingyuan predicted that in the next two to three decades, the most critical period of life, there seems to be no hope in sight.
Tang also analyzed that the lack of a basic sense of security and mutual trust among people, living in an environment filled with hostility and vigilance, provides no guarantees on various fronts. Whether it’s economically or regarding personal safety, individuals might suddenly disappear, and their organs could be harvested. As occurrences like these increase, individuals may develop varying degrees of depression due to psychological fears and uncertainty about the future.
He emphasized that the primary reason for the significant number of depressives in mainland China is the Communist system, directly shaping the lifestyle of this population.
At the same time, a recent report by “Yicai” detailed the booming scene at a plush toy store in Shanghai. The reporter visited a unique coffee shop called Jellycat, where they found a range of plush toys designed to look like “cakes,” “macarons,” “lattes,” and even a “bakery” where customers can choose their “freshly baked pastries.” However, all these “foods” are actually plush toys and not edible. Customers need to make reservations and wait for about half an hour to enter this cafe.
The highlight is during the payment process. After customers purchase exclusive plush toys like teapots, teacups, cakes, and lattes, the staff at the checkout counter performs a show where they “light candles” on plush cake toys, have customers make a wish, and pack them into pastry boxes. They then present teacup toys for customers to “brew tea” and “whip cream” on the latte-shaped toys… The entire performance is aimed at providing customers with a sense of ritual.
The prices of items in this store range from over 300 to 400 yuan for individual pieces, and exclusive sets of cakes, tea sets, and other toys can cost over 2000 yuan. Despite the high prices, the store sees a high number of buyers.
“Yicai” pointed out that rather than merely selling plush toys, Jellycat offers emotional value, catering not just to the cuteness of the toys but providing a form of “spiritual ibuprofen” for adults, meeting the inner needs of adults to “parent without pain” and remain forever young at heart.
Tang Jingyuan mentioned that through this service imbued with innocence, the cafe offers emotional value to help customers enjoy a brief moment of relaxation and pleasure. Among the affluent young people, this trend reflects the psychological escapism of many modern young people.
These adults seek a temporary escape from the highly stressful and anxious environment by immersing themselves in a world of innocence, enjoying fleeting moments of childish joy.