Week 8: Raylph Evangelista - A01

Raylph Evangelista

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A01

Going through the readings of this week's topic made me realize that it is definitely an Asian thing for parents to downplay any type of illnesses. I know that whenever I am feeling not so good, my parents would say that they feel that way as well. To be completely honest, I don't mind that they in a way down play when I am feeling bad. However I am sure that if I ever felt bad mentally I am sure they would give it the utmost attention. That is why when I went through the readings of this week, I felt flustered at the fact that there are people out there that do down play how people are feeling mentally especially when mental health is so important. When I read the essay fucked up it made me think about how bad people must feel when even their parents don't try to understand what they are feeling inside. When Haydock stated that her father would tell her that her feelings, both happy and sad were "normal" I felt like I related with it a lot. I am thankful that I don't suffer from any mental illnesses but to downplay how someone feels, especially when they may be in despair, is just truly horrible. As the photo  below states, Asian Americans are 3 times more likely to look into mental services. I believe that this statistic is entirely true because it is deeply rooted into the Asian culture. I can't speak for every Asian American but even when you refer to the readings, it is clear that this is a problem within the Asian community. It seems as though people believe that mentally everything is fine, even when someone feels terrible and they have no way of explaining it. I feel like I could go on forever about this because I know people who do suffer from mental illnesses, and it is a sensitive topic. All I can hope for is that this stigma that we shouldn't seek out help for mental illnesses is eradicated.

What can we, as part of this Asian American community, do to increase the amount of Asian Americans who seek mental health services when needed?

References

Haydock, S. "fucked up" In I would always rather be abnormal than holistic: Nine micro-essays. (45 - 53). DSM: Asian American edition.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.