A 13-year-old girl from Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, is undergoing professional treatment for depression after years of parental favoritism toward her younger brother caused emotional distress.
The girl, surnamed Chen, shared with doctors at Huai’an Third People’s Hospital that although she is only one year older than her brother, the family treats them very differently. Raised by her grandparents until fourth grade, Chen was brought back by her parents to attend school. Despite being a top student and obedient child, her parents consistently favored her younger brother. They often told her, “You are the older sister; you should let your brother have his way.” When her brother misbehaved, her parents blamed Chen for not setting a good example, while showering the brother with attention and allowances. Chen was also told to be careful with money and not to spend freely, unlike her brother. Growing up in this environment of clear bias, Chen developed low self-esteem and became very sensitive.
She described feeling unattractive, criticizing features like her flat nose and uneven eyebrows. With no close friends and no hobbies, she became withdrawn and isolated at school. About a year ago, Chen began showing signs of depression — persistent sadness, irritability, anxiety that classmates were talking behind her back, poor concentration, declining grades, frequent outbursts at family members, and episodes of self-harm. She struggled to understand why, despite being only a year older than her brother, she was expected to always give in.
Under the care of Dr. Chen Gang and psychologist Sun Shasha at the hospital’s child and adolescent psychology department, Chen has been receiving a comprehensive treatment plan. This includes anxiety medication via intravenous injection, traditional Chinese medicine foot baths to improve circulation, herbal patches to aid sleep, and therapies such as suggestion therapy, brain reflex and EEG treatments, transcranial magnetic stimulation, Morita therapy, and group psychotherapy, all designed to support her recovery and improve her mental health.
