Dodson Chapter 2 Response

Dodson’s point in Chapter 2 is to expose the reader to the amount of stress placed on Chinese citizens. He attempts to educate the reader further into reasons why the Chinese community has such high anxiety. Dodson explains that 90 percent of white-collar workers are highly stressed. That is a huge percentage. Dodson continues on giving us The Four Stresses: owning a home, education cost, competition for jobs, and expensive/overstretched healthcare system. These four things are what brings on the most pressure and anxiety. Owning a home is described as the most prominent, or primary stressor. The stress of healthcare is mainly focused towards the middle-class. The middle class is afraid of losing its money, its property, its jobs, its businesses, its health, its future opportunities for kids, and its lifestyle after retirement.

There also exists a huge stress on students. To be allowed to study in college, you must take a college entrance exam. Dodson explains that you are expected to study 16 hours a day for at least a year before exam. The entire exam last a total of three days. Some families rely on their kids to get in to college to help the family with income and opportunities.

With healthcare systems being too expensive, a lot of people cannot afford it. When going to a hospital, no matter how deathly ill you are, you cannot be helped unless you pay cash up front. This is exceptionally hard considering how expensive medical procedures are in China.

I think that Chinese citizens have every right to be more anxious that Americans. I cannot imagine having all those daily stressors on top of personal ones. There are some days I feel incredible amounts of anxiety, and I am not worrying about any of the things the Chinese are! As a student, I cannot comprehend how stressful it would be to take an exam that lasts for three days! I hate exams that last for three hours! I could never study for something for 16 hours a day for a year. That is egregious to me! And then to worry about not being able to be cared for if I was to fall ill? I would not be able to handle that deal of stress, and then realize once I graduated all I had to look forward to was supporting my entire family and worrying about owning a home and the competitive job market. I feel that at only 19 years of age, I complain about a lot of stress I am facing. While I still believe I have a lot of anxiety to battle, after reading Dodson’s Chapter 2 I will definitely think twice before I overreact.