A recent case of a female college student diagnosed with so-called "peach blossom madness" has drawn public attention, but mental health experts say the term is misleading and risks trivializing serious psychiatric conditions.
The story, widely shared on Chinese social media, involved a woman in her twenties from Jiangsu province who became convinced that several male classmates had romantic feelings for her. After making multiple confessions — all of which were rejected — she began showing noticeable emotional disturbance. Doctors reportedly diagnosed her with a condition described as "peach blossom madness", said to be more common in spring.
Online reactions were largely dismissive. Many commenters joked, "Maybe I have it too", or dismissed the case as mere "crushes" and "love-brain". Few paid attention to the medical explanations that followed.
当事人总觉得别人喜欢自己，甚至评论区一条留言都觉得是暗示，还会向多人告白。这样的描述，更接近精神疾病中的一种症状——钟情妄想，这是一种以坚信某人爱上自己为核心特征的妄想体验。
In response to the public discussion, the popular medical WeChat account Dingxiangyuan published an explanatory article on Wednesday, stating that "peach blossom madness" is not a precise medical term. The symptoms described — believing others are attracted to you, interpreting random comments as hidden signals, and confessing to multiple people — more closely resemble a symptom known in psychiatry as erotomanic delusion, or delusion of love.
"Erotomanic delusion is the firm belief that someone is in love with the patient," the article explained.
需要强调的是，钟情妄想只是一个症状，而非独立的诊断。它可能会在多种精神疾病中出现，并非某种疾病独有。
It emphasized that this is a symptom, not a standalone diagnosis, and can appear in several mental disorders, including schizophrenia, manic episodes, and persistent delusional disorder.
生命时报也曾在报道中指出，钟情妄想作为一种症状，是某些精神疾病的组成部分之一，而不是一种独立的疾病，可见于精神分裂症、躁狂发作以及持久的妄想性障碍等。
The medical publication Life Times also reported that while the term "peach blossom madness" is sometimes used colloquially, it is not a disease entity. Erotomanic delusion may be a component of various psychiatric conditions.
除了这种以“别人好像喜欢我”为主要表现的“桃花癫”，还有一部分报道中，详细描述了当事人出现“挥霍、精力旺盛、几乎不睡觉、频繁骚扰他人”等表现。
如果确实涉及疾病，这些表现则更接近的是躁狂发作。“想要诊断双相情感障碍的躁狂/轻躁狂发作，需要结合情绪高涨、言语增多、活动增多、睡眠需求减少等行为，形成完整的症状体系。”同济大学附属同济医院精神医学中心首席专家陆峥教授介绍。
Some media accounts went further, describing patients showing reckless spending, hyperactivity, nearly sleeplessness, and persistent harassment of others — symptoms more consistent with manic episodes.
"A diagnosis of manic or hypomanic episode in bipolar disorder requires a full symptom picture, including elevated mood, increased speech and activity, reduced need for sleep, among other behaviors," said professor Lu Zheng, chief expert at the Tongji Hospital of Tongji University.