Group Stigma
Association With Shame
One deep-rooted image of mental health is its association to shame. Many Asian Americans understand mental health problems as ‘wrong’ and ‘insane.’ In reality, mental health problems are something dynamic and can happen to anybody.
Vasudev Makhija, the president of the South Asian Mental Health Initiative and Network (SAMHIN), commented on how “…individuals with mental illness and the families of these individuals often feel tainted by [the] presence of mental illness” (V. Makhija, personal communication, July 19, 2020). As people associate mental health with one’s nature, they fail to tackle the true problem.
Culture of Collectivism
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Many Asian nations also share a group-oriented culture that values interpersonal relationships and harmony between people. In essence, breaking the peace by discussing mental health issues is much frowned upon, as it is a delicate topic.
Mental health is also perceived by Asian culture as something one inflicts on oneself to get attention. Caitlin Lim, one of the student interviewees, commented, “Talking about, or even thinking about mental health, is ‘selfish’ and ‘pointless’” (C. Lim, personal communication, July 17, 2020).
Connection of Individuals and Family
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Because of the shame surrounding mental health illness, some AAPI cultures perceive members with mental health illness as bringing dishonor to their families. Many AAPI people hide mental health issues to “save face” of the family and maintain a positive image. In extreme cases, the family rejects those with mental health issues.
Professor Lisa Park of UC Santa Barbara described this stigma as a generational cycle: “Although there is hope that younger people would have less shame in discussing the topic, they are also exposed by their parents’ experiences and stories” (L. Park, personal communication, July 13, 2020).
Case Study: Increased Impact on Women
According to research by Kramer and others, Asian cultures continue to value men over women and demand them to follow defined gender roles (Kramer et al., 2002).
As a result, AAPI women tend to have an increased chance of mental illness. Yasui and Pottick comments, “…having mental illness reinforces traditional family and cultural views of women as inherently more vulnerable to madness, shame, guilt, and instability compared to men” (Yasui and Pottick, 2020, p. 64).
“Many Asian Americans normalize things, such as how they were treated, especially as children. The stereotype of Asian parents beating their children is true and can be traumatic and damaging to some. I know a lot of Asian Americans that joke about being hit by their parents. It’s normal for the Asian community to joke and normalize this behavior. It can prevent people from acknowledging they have trauma because it is a ‘normal’ thing that everyone has experienced.”
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- Jonathan Wang, personal communication, July 15th, 2020