Zhang Jiashuo, 18, felt deceived by his mother when she told him he had been enrolled at an anti-frustration summer camp in Beijing. "She didn't inform me until after she had registered me at the camp," said Zhang, from Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The week-long anti-frustration camp began on August 9 in Huairou district located in Beijing's northern outskirts, with parents paying 12,800 yuan ($2,014) to enroll their children at the camp. The camp was run by Hai Lan, an adolescent psychologist with 20 years' experience, who worked for five years helping refugees at Centerstone, a US-based counseling and community resource center.

Camp promising cure

For the past four years, Hai worked with emotionally traumatized children affected by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province. This year she decided to use her expertise to help adolescents cope with pressure and frustration by running the camp, the first of its kind in Beijing.

Over the course of the week, Hai gave a series of lectures and organized activities to help the 20 children attending - aged between 8 and 18 - identify and effectively manage their stress.

"Some people can be very successful, while others struggle. I think people can have similar intelligence levels, but what separates them is their ability to deal with frustration," Hai explained. "Successful people are those who deal with frustration well."

Frustration isn't exclusively rooted in the fear of failure and mishandling of setbacks in life. Maintaining a high level of physical and emotional health, interpersonal relationships, self-esteem and self-respect are all factors that allow people to better manage their frustration.

Hai advocates fun in her teaching, encouraging campers to engage in interactive lessons by telling stories, sharing personal experiences and playing games.

"At the beginning of the camp I saw that some kids had a short temper and others didn't want to talk openly about their feelings. But as the camp progressed, I saw them change and better learn how to tackle their problems," Hai said.

Despite his initial reluctance to attend, Zhang left the camp glad he participated. He often felt unhappy and quarreled with his parents over his performance at school, but now he has clarity of his situation. "I can now accept the judgments that some people make of me. I won't lose any friends due to unnecessary fuss," he said, adding he now has a better grasp of interpersonal relationships and understands his parents want the best for him.

Zhang's mother, Lü Hongwen, who herself is a psychologist, has no regrets about sending her son to the camp, saying she is pleased with his transition. "As the only child in our family, my son has had a smooth upbringing. He will go to college soon, which is also the first time he will have left us for a long time, so I think it was necessary for him to take this camp to learn how to deal with his frustration," she said. "He's changed a lot since the camp. He has skills that will not only help him personally, but also serve him well in society."

Factors fueling frustration

China has seen a steady increase in stress among teenagers this year, with some cases shocking the nation due to their tragic endings. On April 13, a 14-year-old middle school student in Shandong Province jumped to her death from the fifth floor of a building after her school forced her to get her hair cut. On May 4, a 19-year-old student in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region compiled a list of reasons to live and die before also fatally jumping from a building.

The Chinese Association for Mental Health released a report in 2008 that found young people in the country aged between 15 and 34 are more likely to die at their own hand than any other means, with suicide rates higher in the countryside than the city.

Song Shaowei, a child psychologist and a regular contributor to Sina's education news portal, noted Chinese adolescents are struggling today more than ever to manage their frustration partly due to the rise of online gaming.

"Over 90 percent of adolescents in China have played online games. When they play these games they are rewarded with immediate satisfaction for completing a task, but this is very different from reality," Song told Metro Beijing. "When young people can't get what they want immediately, it's easy for them to feel frustrated."

Parents need to learn, too

Education, particularly pressure to succeed in the gaokao (national college entrance examinations), is arguably one of the biggest sources of stress for Chinese high school students. But Song added that weighty parental expectations often follow children even when they attend university.

Parents can play their part to ease stress on their children by setting reasonable goals and avoiding the temptation to overprotect their kids, Song said. "Parents shouldn't set unrealistic goals that are impossible for children to achieve because they are setting them up for failure and frustration. Helping them to accept criticism and offering methods of self-improvement are also beneficial," Song noted.

Song said one week was "too short" for children at a camp to learn lasting ways to deal with their frustration, but conceded some young people could benefit from the experience.

"There's a link between adolescents who feel frustrated easily and parenting methods," explained Hai, who has a 14-year-old daughter. "Parents can't help but hold high hopes for their children, but this often results in them ignoring their children's needs. If their children fail to meet their lofty expectations, parents become unhappy which in turn makes children frustrated."

Li Yi, a 35-year-old lawyer, isn't sold on the idea of enrolling her 8-year-old daughter in an anti-frustration camp. She told Metro Beijing she would rather see parents take responsibility in managing their children's stress.

"I think instead of the children, parents should attend these camps because one week is too short for children to learn how to permanently change their behavior," Li said. "Parents can learn these theories and teach their children because many parents don't know their sources of frustration."