Mental health crises are ubiquitous among all cultures and identities, regardless of how much a person may want to deny it or not, however, not all cultures exhibit these crises in the same way and manner. As much as it is a strive for people of all cultures to embrace seeking professional help where they see due, some cultures traditionally teach to suffer in silence—in fact, the general gross majority will attend to this teaching—and among it, the Asian American population is at the front of this pack.
Recent data collected from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) has shown that “while 18% of the general U.S. population sought mental health services and resources, only 8.6% of the Asian American population did the same; in a similar study, it was additionally proven that White Americans took advantage of mental health services at three times the rate of Asian Americans” (apa.org). The numbers are stark on all sides; but why is it that Asian Americans seem to lean on the quiet side more than their peers of different ethnicities?
A study from Maryland (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) chose a sample of young Asian Americans born in India, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam and examined their mental health needs, finding that these parties experienced a range of pressures from family and peers that dispirited them from seeking mental help. Among them, many said they felt extreme pressure to be academically or professionally successful, leading them to deny or ignore their symptoms in this pursuit. It was then found in a study (tandfonline.com) published in 2013 that Asian American students tend to worry significantly more about school and family expectations than their white counterparts.
Furthermore, Sumie Okazaki, a professor of counseling psychology at NYU, stated “[Asian Americans] face higher standards and higher pressures of not living up to the expectations of others. 54% of people identifying as Asian have earned a bachelor’s degree, while the next highest group, white people, stood at just 37%” (counseling.steinhardt.nyu.edu). Most Asian Americans experience this higher tendency of worry in the realm of school and family, often sprung upon by First Generation parents pushing their own hopes and dreams onto their children. Immigration policies implemented circa 1965 favored people with more education and professional skills, serving as a prime factor that encouraged immigrant parents to push these values of education and success onto their children. “There is this really acute pressure to succeed because the family has sacrificed so much to come here from their home country”, Yee of NYU states.
Because of these enormous pressures to succeed and the positive results/success Asian American youths observe in their contemporaries that originated from these same pressures (model minority mindset), many refuse to admit that they’re struggling, and the enormity of their high achievement thus far certainly doesn’t lend to making this obvious.
This is so extreme to the point of poor mental health even developing into a “taboo” topic among Asian communities; that if this issue of mental health has never been discussed before, how can it be “that” serious? If this is that big of a deal, how will you succeed then? How will you “own up” to our community?
That pressure to “own up” is very real; in fact, ancient teachings would go as far as to say your value as a person depends entirely on your ability to also take care of your family and community. Geoffrey Liu, MD, at McLean’s Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Program states that “in East Asia, this originates from Confucianism. Mental illness—incorrectly—is seen as taking away a person's ability to care for others; as though taking away someone’s purpose. It’s the ultimate form of supposed shame” (mclean hospital.org). The origins of these pressures surrounding Asian communities extend farther back than we can grasp—indicative of how hardened this mindset has become over centuries.
At the base of all of this though, is mental health stigma—especially among Asians—of being seen as “crazy”, a “disappointment”, “weak”, or “shameful”, especially in light of the thought that we have to repay our parents for their lost dreams and sacrifices. Although Asian Americans have found workarounds alternatives to reaching out to mental health professionals, much of it is still rooted in stigma; from confiding in a church to requesting “out-of-nowhere” headache medication from doctors—when the client consciously knows the root of their suffering isn’t in religious trouble or sporadic physical ailment, but mental health struggle.
Although the history of mental health struggle among Asian Americans is unfortunate, from then to its effects presently, there aren't any actions we haven’t taken to help aid this. For Asian American college students (an at-risk population), some experts have argued that “embedding mental health clinicians in college dorm complexes may increase access and viability” (mcleanhospital.org). They also found that abandoning the traditions of Western European psychotherapy and instead getting to know an Asian American’s background amid a more abstract model may help remove barriers between client and doctor.
Despite the looming presence of factors and aspects that contribute to declining mental health among Asian Americans, there are always solutions and ways to aid. Slowly, we are taking the steps forward to implementing more and more of them.
Works Cited:
Why Asian Americans don't seek help for mental illness. Why Asian Americans Don't Seek Help for Mental Illness | McLean Hospital. (2022, May 1). Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/why-asian-americans-dont-seek-help-mental-illness.
Lee, S., Juon, H.-S., Martinez, G., Hsu, C. E., Robinson, E. S., Bawa, J., & Ma, G. X. (2009, April). Model minority at risk: Expressed needs of Mental Health by Asian American young adults. Journal of community health. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296234/.
Influences of personal standards and perceived parental expectations of worry for Asian American and White American college students. Taylor & Francis. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10615806.2012.668536?journalCode=gasc20/.
Burdened with worry: How the pressure to succeed can affect Asian American students. NYU. (2022, November 30). Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://counseling.steinhardt.nyu.edu/blog/asian-americans-burdened-with-worry/.
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Mental health among Asian-Americans. American Psychological Association. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/asian-american/article-mental-health#:~:text=Recent%20data%20collected%20from%20the%20National%20Latino%20and,likely%20to%20seek%20mental%20health%20services%20than%20Whites.
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