Week 6
A01
This week's set of readings primarily focused on the mental health of Asian Americans, and how Asian Americans experience a very real set of mental disorders such as anorexia, depression, OCD, and several others. These problems are all rooted in an extreme amount of pressure that is set by the community that Asian Americans are surrounded by. The model minority, as discovered in week 3, forces high expectations on Asian Americans, and there tends to be a feeling of inadequacy and failure once these expectations aren't met. The mental disorders are thus manifestations of this felt pressure, where Asian Americans may start to become depressed due to failure, or starve themselves or self-harm while looking for some sort of release or means to punish themselves for not being able to deliver.
This week's readings reminded me of an article I read sometime ago called, "What It Means to be a Filipino American" by Kevin Nadal. I was shocked to learn that Filipino Americans have the highest rates of depression in comparison to other Asian Americans, and are least likely to seek mental health treatment. I realize that this is because it is inherent in Filipino culture not to talk about hardships or weaknesses, and being anything less than successful shouldn't be spoken of. The Filipino culture tends to shame themselves for their shortcomings. It is my personal opinion that this sense of perfectionism, and this need for success results in the lack of freedom and the characteristic of forced independence. It almost restricts self-discovery.
Attached is the header photo from the article mentioned above, depicting a transition of what it means to be Filipino to what it means to be a Filipino-American. It shows how Filipino Americans come to learn about their identities through the different heroes presented.
How do we create a space where dependency and hardship are accepted within the Asian American community?
Works Cited:
Mental Health. Retrieved May 06, 2017, from https://youthradio.org/journalism/education/on-some-college-campuses-a-focus-on-asian-american-mental-health/
Feng, A. J. (2015, April 20). 1 Enormous Myth that is Hurting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community. Retrieved May 07, 2017, from https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/mental-health-myths-about-the-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-aapi-community/
Nadal, K. (n.d.). What It Means To Be A Filipino-American. Retrieved May 07, 2017, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevinnadal/becoming-filipino-american?utm_term=.tibEa9pVz#.bjqXqlJ9B
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