Asian-American mental health needs to be destigmatized and treated as an actual issue. American school systems are excellent at using small band-aids to cover up large gaping wounds when it comes to students’ mental health. We have the occasional “mental health half-day,” only to be bombarded with homework and tests the next day. We are given a 30-minute assembly at the beginning of the year explaining the importance of wellness, but still have that 10-page report due next period on top of five other tests. I live in an area of New Jersey that has a high concentration of Asian people. The local schools are incredibly competitive and I have seen firsthand students’ mental health deteriorate starting in middle school due to the high amounts of stress from school, parents, and the intense learning environment. Many of my close friends have been put on anti-depressants because of this, and some students have even committed suicide. My peers think they cannot talk about their mental health out of embarrassment of not being “ok.” Society often overlooks mental health because it is something you cannot see with the physical eye. People can hide their anxiety, stress, and depression inside themselves. As Asians, our mental health is overlooked even further because of the model minority myth. This myth perpetuates stereotypes that Asian people are quiet and law-abiding and smart geniuses (the future doctors and lawyers). This myth is dangerously harmful because it erases the differences and individuality of Asian people. My Asian friends fear speaking to their parents or a trusted adult about their mental health because they are supposed to be “perfect” students and sons and daughters. Because of this stigma, they are forced to suffer alone and in silence with no support system.
Asian-American parents need to open their eyes and look at their child as a whole. They need to stop trying to mold their child into the perfect student, athlete, or musician, and instead view their child as a human being, who is not perfect and makes mistakes.