A psychology consultancy said business last year had increased 20 times over the previous year, the Daily Sunshine reported.
The center, under a website called China Psychological Consultation Network, said the most discussed topics included marriage, love, work pressure and interpersonal relations.
The newspaper did not give figures for the number of cases dealt with in 2003 and 2004.
Dai Yingpin, director of the consultancy, said frequent changes in relationships, shaky relationships and highly stressed careers had something to do with Shenzhen's status as a city of migrants.
Dai said people could feel uneasy and lost while far from their original hometown values of society, economics and culture with new values yet to be established.
Some popular labels, such as "successful" and "perfect," also put great pressure on people, Dai said.
Those lacking these labels could feel inferior, anxious and nervous, while those already labeled could be afraid of losing the status and felt they had to keep working for further success, Dai said.
Dai said many Shenzhen people were facing feelings of social isolation, insecurity and acclimatization difficulties as a result of collisions of values and cultures.
Dai cited a couple as an example. The husband, a native of Guangdong, and the wife, from Hunan Province, were fond of each other and were reluctant to divorce in spite of frequent clashes in their lives. The man often refused to go home after work, causing the woman to suffer from depression. To blame was the differences in their original cultures and understanding of the family's role, Dai said.
Dai suggested people redefine success and happiness and set suitable life goals, tolerate different values and behavior, and seek help in time when meeting with stressful problems.
(Shenzhen Daily February 18, 2005)
