Week 6

Anuj Patel

ID: 998882783

Section A03, Mondays 7:10-8:00

                Katherine Kam in her article “On Some College Campuses, A Focus On Asian American Mental Health” discuss the reasons why Asian Americans often have mental health problems and why Asian Americans easily get stressed more than other racial groups (Kam 2). These reasons Asian Americans easily get stressed include the pressure for Asian Americans to perform up to their potential, the amount of achievement their family expects after they graduate from college, the difficulties in applying for jobs due to affirmative action, which is a form of discrimination, as well as the challenges these Asian Americans face when overcoming their reputation. (Kam 2-4). For example, Kam in her article mentions Joanna Chen, who is an undergraduate student in Cornell, “Of Chinese descent, she had very few Asian peers in her Grand Rapids, Michigan community. By middle school, “I was already facing a lot of stereotypes from my classmates”, she says. They would tell her, “You’re so smart, you’re so good at math”, she says. Even thought these could be called “positive stereotypes”, Chen felt stressed by the expectations.” (Kam 2-3). Here, Kam discusses why Asian Americans feel like they need to be perfect at everything, and that if a person is different from the rest of society, they feel discouraged. (Kam 3).

This relates to my experience having an ADHD disability. Connecting my experience as well as Chen’s experience to the theme of this weeks readings on mental illnesses, I can say that my experiences with ADHD have made social interactions in high school more difficult growing up. I would often go to school, find myself lost and without a stable group of friends as most people in my high school classes were reluctant to talk to someone who was atypical, even though I have a high IQ. ADHD often made me impulsive, and I often said comments to other people that I would regret a few days later. Because I had a reputation of being without friends, I was also bullied in high school, similar to how Joanna Chen feels disappointed that she does not feel normal. Later on in the article, Kam also discusses how schools can improve the problems they have with Asian Americans feeling depressed and overwhelmed by implementing cultural centers which are designed to improve people’s self esteem. (Kam 5).

Question: Do moderate mental illnesses actually help people perform better in society by giving them more motivation and unique skills to succeed? Or are mental illnesses always viewed as handicaps people need to overcome just to be equal to a person without a mental illness (can mental illnesses actually increase your aptitude)?

 

(Gorski 2013)

References:

Gorski, Samantha. "Nine Stages of a College All-Nighter." UNH Tales. N.p., 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 May 2017. <http://www.unh.edu/unhtales/nine-stages-of-a-college-all-nighter-2/>.

Kam, K. (2013, September 13). On Some College Campuses, A Focus On Asian American Mental

Health. New America Media. Retrieved from http://newamericamedia.org/2013/09/on-some-college-campuses-a-focus-on-asian-american-mental-health.php