Soul Graffiti, AI Confession Booths, Team Interactions… These Activities Unlock the "Heart Lock" of Growing Up
Helping You Unlock the "Heart Lock" of Growing Up ■ Li Zhi, Ma Ying
The People's Armed Police Engineering University carries out psychological health activities in various forms. Photos by Li Zhi and Ma Ying
Psychological health is the deep and fertile soil of spiritual strength. Only when the soil of the soul is firm enough can the green pine of ideals stand tall through wind and rain, and the flower of youth bloom in all its splendor.
Today, as psychological health has increasingly become an important component of combat effectiveness, cadets need not only to master psychological self-regulation skills at military academies — after taking up posts in units, they will equally depend on strong psychological resilience when carrying out diverse military tasks.
On the occasion of the "5·25" National College Student Mental Health Day, military academies across the armed forces launched a series of psychological health activities to care for young cadets, widely disseminating relevant knowledge and helping cadets grow and thrive.
Inside the Psychological Services Research Center of the People's Armed Police Engineering University, Huang Fei, an instructor from the Military Psychology Teaching and Research Section, drew slips of paper one by one from a "soul blind box": "I want to do everything well, but things often don't go as I wish"; "Life at the military academy is monotonous and repetitive, with no sense of novelty"… Faced with these anonymously written "youthful troubles," the cadets present either shared similar experiences, actively offered suggestions, or listened quietly in reflection, together embarking on a journey of self-growth.
Unlocking the "heart lock" of growing up, breaking through the "troubles" of growing up. Soul graffiti (心灵涂鸦), AI confession booths (智能树洞), team interactions, messages to youth (青春寄语)… Through a series of group psychological activities and behavioral training sessions, the cadets gained warm and powerful "heart" energy.
A "Water Drop" Must Merge into the "Ocean" to Avoid Drying Up
Stepping into the Psychological Services Research Center of the People's Armed Police Engineering University, a brightly colored "soul graffiti" wall catches the eye.
"A 'stick figure' with simple lines stands to one side, facing a lively crowd — this hints at the author's inner self-enclosure." Looking at cadet Su Linxin's casual doodle, Gao Li, director of the Military Psychology Teaching and Research Section, read the message behind it.
In conversation, Su Linxin candidly admitted that as the top gaokao scorer in her hometown, "excellence" had once been her defining trait. Yet after entering the military academy, she repeatedly fell behind in military training, and her theoretical studies hovered around the middle of the pack. The unprecedented sense of pressure gradually drove her toward self-enclosure.
"Because of 'upward social comparison' (上行社会比较), she feels she has gone from being excellent to being 'ordinary,' experiencing a kind of 'relative deprivation' (相对剥夺感). The key is to help her integrate into the collective and develop a sense of trust and security within it." After analyzing Su Linxin's situation, Gao Li proposed a solution.
On a raised platform, Su Linxin stood tensely, hearing the voices of her comrades behind her: "Don't worry! We will definitely catch you!"
Receiving encouragement from her comrades, Su Linxin summoned her courage and finally fell backward bravely. Her comrades formed a "safety net" with their arms and caught her steadily.
This "trust fall" (信任背摔) allowed Su Linxin to feel the warmth and strength of the collective, and a sense of belonging gradually took root in her heart.
Afterward, Gao Li deliberately organized a "praise you" activity, asking cadets to speak about each other's strengths.
"Su Linxin is especially attentive — last time I went on sentry duty without eating dinner, and when I came off duty, she had made me a bowl of hot noodles." "She is very resilient; during crawling drills her elbows were scraped raw, but she was back on the training ground the next day."… Hearing her comrades' words, Su Linxin was surprised — she had not expected that others saw so many bright points in her.
The sincere praise and appreciative gazes of her comrades swept away the gloom in Su Linxin's heart. Just as a "water drop" must merge into the "ocean" to avoid drying up, as the distance between hearts drew closer, she became more optimistic and positive.
Today, Su Linxin has become a "warm-hearted person." She proactively stands sentry for sick classmates, accompanies instructors on visits to comfort veterans of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and organizes participation in "Red Story Telling Competitions"… At the same time, she regularly consults her comrades on military training methods, jointly studies theoretical knowledge, and has made gratifying progress.
Words from the Psychology Instructor
Gao Li, Director of the Military Psychology Teaching and Research Section, People's Armed Police Engineering University: Dear cadets, upon entering the gates of a military academy, facing a new environment and unfamiliar classmates, it is inevitable to feel pressure from invisible comparisons, and even to fall into self-imposed loneliness. If you observe carefully, there will always be someone in the collective who is "just like you" — someone who likes playing basketball or listening to music. This "similarity effect" (相似性效应) can quickly close the distance between people. We can use shared interests and hobbies, or a sense of identification in ideas and values, to reduce the sense of strangeness one feels within the collective, and thereby experience the warmth that comes from belonging to it.
Turning the "Stone" in Your Heart into a "Stepping Stone" for Growth
"I can't run the 3-kilometer with my classmates." To "Xiao Wu," the robot at the Psychological Services Research Center, first-year cadet Zhou Chenhao confided a secret he had long kept buried.
When he first enrolled, Zhou Chenhao's physical fitness was poor — he could only finish the 3-kilometer run in 17 minutes. After a period of hard training, he finally brought his time down to 13 minutes, nearly within reach of the passing mark. However, during a routine training session, a classmate tried in good faith to pull him along to finish the full distance, but accidentally knocked him down, causing a torn cruciate ligament in his knee. After recovering from the injury, Zhou Chenhao developed a "psychological ailment" — he was afraid to run with other classmates. Plagued by mental pressure, his performance also regressed.
"Whether facing teachers or classmates, cadets may find it difficult to speak up due to 'herd pressure' (集群压力). Sometimes they are more willing to share their troubles with a stranger. In this regard, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, robots have opened a new path to addressing this problem." Xie Yeda, an instructor from the Military Psychology Teaching and Research Section, explained the original intent of this "AI confession booth" (智能树洞) activity.
After learning about Zhou Chenhao's situation, "Xiao Wu" first offered verbal guidance, then played a stress-relief video. At the same time, a tailored solution was generated.
"If you're afraid to run on the training ground, you can try our VR running." Stepping onto the VR treadmill, Zhou Chenhao strapped on VR goggles and other equipment. "Xiao Wu" projected the familiar track into a virtual "world" and provided positive psychological suggestion through "spatial psychological anchoring" (空间心理锚定). "This is a classic case of post-traumatic stress disorder (创伤应激障碍) and requires systematic desensitization — letting him gradually confront his past setbacks and dissolve the anxiety and fear response in a state of relaxation," said Xie Yeda.
Watching Zhou Chenhao gradually relax, Instructor Xie continued to guide him: "At this moment, imagine you are running on the training ground." Following the instruction, Zhou Chenhao began to meditate.
"Another classmate has joined." Zhou Chenhao pressed his lips together. Instructor Xie narrated gently at his side: "This is your classmate — you can trust him completely…" Slowly, one "classmate" after another joined Zhou Chenhao, and in his mind he ran faster and faster.
After completing the desensitization and imagery training, Instructor Xie and "Xiao Wu" accompanied Zhou Chenhao to the training ground and walked with him along the track. When they reached the bend where he had been injured, Zhou Chenhao was visibly tense. "Xiao Wu" played soothing music to calm his mood, while Instructor Xie encouraged him verbally and ran alongside him…
In the days that followed, under Instructor Xie's guidance, Zhou Chenhao started running again. As he ran, familiar faces began to appear around him — the "buddy" who slept in the bunk above him, the "partner" from the study interest group… Classmates he spent day and night with chatted about light topics while running, allowing Zhou Chenhao to slowly shed his "psychological burden," his stride growing faster and faster.
"Instructor Xie, thank you — I finally passed the 3-kilometer run." Not long after, Zhou Chenhao excitedly reported his good news to the instructor.
Young cadets will inevitably encounter difficulties in the course of growing up. Setbacks and trauma in particular are like a stone in the heart — they can weigh a person down until they can barely breathe. But as long as one eliminates fear and faces them bravely, these "stones" will become "stepping stones" for growth, helping cadets climb upward from where they fell, step by step out of their psychological困境.
Words from the Psychology Instructor
Xie Yeda, Instructor, Military Psychology Teaching and Research Section, People's Armed Police Engineering University: "The best way to eliminate fear is to face it." Though this is an old saying, it is also the most straightforward truth. Injury on the road of growth is inevitable, but after confronting fear head-on, one discovers that fear is merely an amplification of subjective imagination. We can use the "graduated exposure method" (阶梯式暴露法) to break a feared thing down from large to small. For example, if you are afraid to speak in front of a crowd, you can start by speaking to yourself in a mirror, then to a friend, and finally in front of the whole class — thereby breaking the fixed pattern of psychological shadow, reducing emotional sensitivity, and through direct confrontation, accepting emotions and tempering the mind.
Growing Up Is a Long Journey Carried on the Back of Love and Dreams
"Classmate, is something troubling you?" Noticing that cadet Lin Yishu seemed distracted during a sandplay therapy (沙盘游戏) session, instructor Yang Xinyuan asked with concern.
It turned out that Lin Yishu, who was about to graduate, was determined to serve in a remote and arduous region, but her parents had expressed a different view — they felt she could not endure the hardships of the frontier.
"Why do you want to go to the frontier?" Yang Xinyuan asked.
Lin Yishu opened her phone's photo album, and a dried-leaf bookmark made from a Xinjiang spruce appeared on the screen.
The previous year, the People's Armed Police had organized a lecture by outstanding graduates who had voluntarily gone to the frontier. Their stories of taking root at the frontier and making achievements had moved Lin Yishu. After the event, Wang Chen, from a certain detachment of the Xinjiang General Corps, came to Lin Yishu's dormitory, held a group discussion with everyone, and gave classmates dried-leaf bookmarks.
Wang Chen told Lin Yishu about her experience serving in the Altay region: "It is very beautiful there — a brilliant starry sky, majestic snow-capped mountains, magnificent valleys. This leaf is one I picked up during an early-autumn field operation. But behind that beauty lies the 'hardship' of temperatures dropping to -40°C in winter and slapping a dozen mosquitoes dead with one hand in summer."
Seeing Lin Yishu's admiring gaze, Wang Chen continued: "One winter, herders encountered danger while out in the field, and the unit I was in quickly moved forward to carry out a rescue. After the herders were saved, seeing their smiles and hearing their words of gratitude, I felt my youth had real value. I guard the peace of the frontier and the happiness of the people — my heart is at ease."
Wang Chen's words planted the seed of a desire to voluntarily serve at the frontier in Lin Yishu's heart. But now, with graduation approaching, her parents' opinion had caused her to waver.
After listening to Lin Yishu's account, Yang Xinyuan did not immediately counsel her, but instead brought her to the mini "karaoke room" in the Psychological Services Research Center.
"I want to be the wind — don't worry about me, no matter where I go, I'm on the road to finding myself…" As the theme song "I Want to Be the Wind" from the film "Successor" (《抓娃娃》) played, Lin Yishu watched the music video while recalling scenes from the film, and seemed to gain some understanding of her parents' state of mind.
"Arguing cannot solve the problem. We can use 'family systems therapy' (家庭系统疗法) — first try to understand them, then give them a sense of security, and finally persuade them." Recalling the communication method Instructor Yang had just taught her, Lin Yishu decided to write a letter to her family.
"Mom and Dad, I know you feel for me — you're afraid I'll suffer hardship, afraid you'll miss me and not be able to see me. Please don't worry. Transportation is well-developed now; I promise to come home to see you every time I have leave. Border post facilities are getting better and better — not only can we eat fresh vegetables and fruit, but the barracks are warm in winter and cool in summer… Going to the frontier is your daughter's own wish; your support for me is my greatest happiness." As the words from her heart were set down on paper, the weight pressing on Lin Yishu's chest seemed to lift.
To convince her parents, Lin Yishu also found many moving videos online of young officers and soldiers defending the nation at the frontier, as well as vlogs reflecting the new look of frontier construction and development, and sent them to her parents. "This is the 'concrete evidence persuasion method' (具象化证据说服法) Instructor Yang taught me — using this empirical evidence in place of my 'empty words,' so Mom and Dad can see it with their own eyes," she said.
Not long after, Yang Xinyuan received a text message from Lin Yishu — her family had agreed to her choice, she had written her application to voluntarily serve at the frontier, and she was ready to set off for the frontier at any moment to pursue her dream.
Growing up is a long journey carried on the back of love and dreams. "With love in the heart, everything in sight is beautiful"; "Set forth now toward the stars and the sea, and may you return still young at heart"… On the activity room wall, the "messages to youth" board was covered in heart-shaped sticky notes of every color, filled with the ardent voices of the cadets.
Words from the Psychology Instructor
Yang Xinyuan, Instructor, Military Psychology Teaching and Research Section, People's Armed Police Engineering University: Parents' love often holds them to a higher standard precisely because they "love so deeply." Parents' empiricism and our youthful dreams always seem to be at odds, and love struggles to choose between "sheltering" and "letting go." I suggest everyone avoid communicating with "violent language" (暴力语言) such as "I'm going to do it my way" or "what do you know." Try "role reversal" (角色互演) with your parents — directly experiencing each other's positions and emotions. Build a bridge of the soul through mutual understanding and sincere communication, and carrying their love with you, bravely set out toward the mountains and seas that belong to you.
(At the request of those interviewed, some names in this article are pseudonyms.)
Layout design: Lü Peibo