Week 6 - Nicholas Suen

Before coming to college I never thought there was a specific association of mental illness with Asian American students. However, since starting at UC Davis I have seen many of my friends (and even myself) overwhelmed by the immense pressures we placed on ourselves to succeed. These self inflicted pressures without a doubt stem from pressures initially placed by parents. Asian parents that have immigrated to the United States in hope of improving the lives of their children have a significant desire for their children to succeed. This is emulated through high expectations in academia and extra curricular activities (such as playing instruments, sports, etc.). Although this enforces stereotypes such as that asian parents are hard on their children and don’t want them to have any fun, it really stems from them wanting their children to be successful in life.

I believe many asian american students come to realize the sacrifices their parents have made when they start their college education. This causes many students to want to live up to these expectations, making them want to be as successful so that they do not disappoint their parents. This is an important transition, where the children take on the pressures their parents initially introduced and enforce them on themselves, so “ [The students are] putting a lot of pressures on themselves and creating a lot of stress,and that also leads to perfectionism.” (2013) I can understand the stigma within many asian cultures, that things like mental illness and any other forms inhibition are often considered within the same family of inadequacy. Most asian american students would rather internalize their inner thoughts and feelings, often to the point of detrimental effect, instead of reaching out to someone or asking for help. This would violate their path to perfectionism, of being perfect for their parents who have sacrificed so much so that their children could have better opportunities. For me personally, I have always believed that if I get anything less than 100% on any exam or assignment, that there was something I could have done to do better. There had to be something I should have done in order to be successful in everything I do. Anything less than perfect can be considered failure, because we are engineered to believe that we could have always done better.

Thankfully, advocacy programs have been introduced that are supporting the breaking down of stigma surrounding mental health issues, particularly through cultural organizations and student lead events. One particularly interesting example is the UC Davis Mental Health Conference, an annual event consisting of panels, workshops, and caucuses. This has provided a space for students to discuss openly about mental health issues and learn more about what they can do to support themselves and others to deal with these kinds of issues.

References

1. Kam, K. (2013, September 11). On Some College Campuses, a Focus on Asian American Mental Health. Retrieved October 29, 2017, from http://newamericamedia.org/2013/09/on-some-college-campuses-a-focus-on-asian-american-mental-health.php

2. UC Davis Mental Health Initiative. (n.d.). Facebook. Retrieved October 29, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/events/1902409026689299/