Asian American Women and Mental Health

Culture can affect our mental health in various ways. For instance, it can contribute to stress and promote stigma that can hinder us from seeking help. In this episode of the Disability Visibility Podcast, disability rights activist Alice Wong speaks with health activist Jessica Gimeno and mental health advocate Emily Wu Truong about their mental health journeys as Asian American women.

In Asian American communities, stigma and silence can make it difficult to get mental health support. By advocating for ourselves, we can get a diagnosis and find the proper treatment. And when we share our mental health stories, we empower others to seek help and share their own experiences.

Another cultural barrier for Asian American women to seeking mental health care is the model minority myth. The pressure to be perfect and have it all together can make it difficult to admit that we are struggling. Culturally competent care is important in recognizing and addressing the barriers to care in Asian American communities.

It’s a myth that Asian Americans and young Asian Americans are more depressed than our white counterparts. We suffer from Depression at the same rates, but the problem is we seek help less. And so, the problem is likely to get worse, just like with anything, if you don’t get help... And so, crucially, we need to seek help, and there’s lots of factors in that: Cultural competency training so that first, people seek help, but also when they actually do seek help, they’re not alienated because of these cultural miscommunication gaps.

SOURCE: Disability Visibility Project • AUTHOR: Alice Wong, Emily Wu Truong, and Jessica Gimeno • LAST UPDATED: March 11, 2018