Asian American Studies 2 : Week 6 - Yufei Liu

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Week 6 - Yufei Liu - A04

Depression, so many of us Asians have dealt with this mental illness but we are never known to be the ones that seek help. To the general public, including our Asian parents, Asian people having mental issue is a myth unless they have reach the point of acting hysterically or even committing suicide. Having depression also have a negative connotation to it. Although never diagnosed, I felt depressed for my entire junior year in high-school. I was the less than 10% Asian minority in my high-school so naturally, may students and teachers think I belong to the smart ones. Also eager to prove myself, I signed up for all the honor and AP classes and involved myself in as many after school activities as possible. I was definitely burnt out. Simultaneously, cultural barrier, loneliness, and homesickness were really getting the best of me as an international student.

Not surprisingly, my GPA dropped and my parents were not very satisfied. This made me feel like I cannot approach them for help anymore. As the article On Some College Campuses, A Focus On Asian American Mental by NEW AMERICA MEDIA mentions, first generation students (first generation Asian American or international student in my case) especially feel the need to succeed because of the power of family obligation. My parents sacrificed so much to pay my expensive tuition and housing in the United States, therefore I have to be the best of the best and get in the most prestigious colleges.

I treated everything with hatred and I often locked myself up in my room. I even started cutting and crying because I had no outlet for these bad emotions. After all, I recovered on my own as I start to build meaningful relationships with some of my best friends till this day. I never seeked professional help or tell my parents what happened. In my head, I have already gotten the answer form them.

“Well, you’re just a regular teenager with your teenager problems. It will all get better if you stop spending time thinking about negative emotions but focus more on your classes and GPA.”

Question: what are the free platforms that people dealing with mental illnesses can seek professional help from?