Mental Health
Mythbusters
Holistic Health
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Mental health is just as real as physical health. Just like how we all have physical health, we all have mental health too. Both are important components of whole health.
Symptoms of mental health challenges may be more difficult to “see” but they have very real impacts on the mind, body, relationships, daily functioning, etc
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Mental health is an integral part of whole health. Whole health, or holistic health, means having a balanced sense of wellbeing across different equally important areas of life.
The NAAPIMHA Achieving Whole Health model states that the mind, body, and spirit are inseparable parts of whole health.
The SAMHSA 8 Dimensions of Wellness model states that the following are interconnected dimensions necessary for a healthy quality of life: emotional, physical, spiritual, social, occupational, intellectual, financial, and environmental
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Mental health challenges have real impacts on both mind and body. For example, anxiety can show up in the mind as excessive worry or fear, sense of dread, catastrophic thinking, rumination, etc. But it can also show up in the body as increased heart rate, shortness of breath, nausea, headaches, restlessness, sleep issues, etc.
Think about it: When you’re stressed, where do you feel it in your body?
In the long run, unaddressed mental health challenges also lead to chronic physical health issues. For example, people with chronic depression are at higher-risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and shortened life expectancy.
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Mental health is a human right. According to the World Health Organization, “Health is a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights. Every human being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of [physical and mental] health”
In other words, mental wellbeing is not a “reward” for success later in life. Rather, it is the foundation - a healthy mind and body makes it possible for you to meaningfully participate and succeed in all other areas of life.
Wellness-Illness Continuum
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Due to stigma, the term “mental health” is often conflated with “mental illness.” But mental health isn’t just illness. Just like physical health, mental health exists on a continuum - including wellness, illness, and every point in between.
Think about it: Where on the continuum is your mental health today?
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Mental health isn’t all-or-nothing. A person is rarely ever 100% healthy or 100% ill.
Think about it: Would you consider yourself 100% physically healthy or 100% physically ill?
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Just like physical health, your mental health “status” changes day-to-day due to changing stress levels, life events, and other factors.
Think about it: Is your mental health today exactly the same as it was yesterday? Last week? Last year?
While some mental health challenges are chronic, or influenced by risk factors outside your control, you can always take proactive steps to become more well. In other words, no matter where you’re at now, you can always take action to enhance your wellbeing.
Think about it: What’s one action you can take today to be more well?
Who Seeks Help
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Mental health challenges are experienced across the lifespan - from childhood to older adulthood.
The first symptoms of mental health conditions often appear in childhood or adolescence. Half of all mental health disorders begin by age 14, and three-quarters by age 24. Anxiety disorders onset as early as age 7.
Asian American transition aged youth (ages 15-24) are the only racial group with suicide as a leading cause of death.
Early identification and diagnosis are strengths, not deficits. Early intervention can prevent symptoms from becoming more severe or chronic, help children develop healthy coping strategies, and ultimately improve lifelong health outcomes.
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Mental health challenges aren’t a reflection of character flaws or deficits. In fact, speaking up about mental health is a sign of strength - it takes courage to talk about something so heavily stigmatized, and sharing struggles is a proactive step towards addressing them.
All behavior is a form of communication. Actions sometimes labelled as “attention-seeking” may actually be attention-needing - signaling that someone is in need of understanding and support.
When To Seek Help
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Ignoring mental health challenges doesn’t make them disappear. Symptoms rarely go away without any support or intervention; and even if they do, they’re likely to return.
Ignoring mental health challenges also often makes things worse. The longer it persists, symptoms can become more severe, and harder to treat. They’ll be increasingly difficult to ignore as they cause negative impacts in other areas of life. For example:
Co-morbid (co-occuring) physical health problems
Impaired executive functioning (difficulty concentrating)
Decreased school/work performance
Strained relationships
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Asian Americans tend to not seek support until symptoms reach a severe point of crisis. But the longer you wait to treat a mental health condition, the more difficult recovery will be.
Think about it: If you have a physical health issue, like a broken leg, would you have it treated right away, or wait until it gets worse? Would your broken leg heal better if treated immediately, or if you waited a while?
Alternatively, the earlier you seek help for a mental health condition, the better your recovery outcomes will be.
Self-Care
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Some risk factors (i.e. factors that contribute to mental health challenges) are outside of our control. For example:
family history or genetics
stressful or traumatic life events
dangerous or unstable environment
poverty or financial instability
low access to healthcare/education
experiences of discrimination/racism
However, we can take action to strengthen protective factors (i.e. factors that protect against mental health challenges) within our control. For example:
Practicing routines that maintain mental and physical wellbeing (e.g. daily gratitude, affirmations, exercise, healthy diet, sleep)
Building social-emotional intelligence
Being aware of your stressors
Taking proactive steps to manage stress & practice healthy coping strategies
Communicating and self-advocating for your needs
Building a support system of trusted family, friends, mentors, faith or community members, etc.
Engaging in cultural community or other spaces that foster a healthy sense of identity, meaning, safety, and belonging
Seeking professional support - from culturally responsive providers or trusted community resources
Think of life like a balance scale. Risk factors add weight to one side - some heavier than others, and some we can’t remove. What we can do is add protective factors to the other side to help find a balance.
You can “deal with” mental health challenges — through action, not passivity.
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In collectivist Asian communities, we tend to value caring for others over ourselves. However, self-care is not selfish - it’s an essential part of family care and community care. By caring for your mental and physical health, you enhance your capacity to fully show up for your loved ones.
Regardless of your relationships, you deserve and need self-care. Self-care is a way of taking responsibility for your overall wellbeing - ultimately benefitting you and those around you.
Intergenerational Divides
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Mental health challenges have long existed in Asian communities across generations and across the diaspora (in the US and our homelands).
In the past, older generations did not always have access to mental health education or trusted mental health care. It was more challenging to recognize, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions. Mental health was so heavily stigmatized, so people didn’t talk about it.
Asian elders have struggled with mental health challenges. But they didn’t necessarily have the environment, language, or resources to express it or seek support. “Dealing with it” often meant struggling in silence, without needed support.
Today, younger generations learn about mental health as early as primary school, and see mental health advocacy on social media. As mental health is destigmatized, it’s easier to talk about and identify challenges. With increased access to healthcare, more youth are able to receive appropriate diagnoses and treatment
Both older and younger generations have faced mental health challenges with resilience. For the younger generation, “dealing with it” looks different- leveraging new language, knowledge, and privilege to heal in healthier, more effective ways.
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There’s no doubt that our elders faced difficult life circumstances (poverty, war, migration, etc.), and thus mental health challenges. However, this does not negate the hardships and pain that youth today face under new conditions.
Many Asian American youth struggle with high expectations to succeed, acculturation stress, race-based traumatic stress, intergenerational trauma, etc. - all of which are real and painful in their own ways.
All emotional pain is pain - it does not need to meet a certain level of severity to be considered legitimate. Any person experiencing emotional distress deserves acknowledgement, compassion and support.
Recognizing one generation’s suffering does not diminish another’s. There is room to honor our elders’ resilience, while also taking young people’s mental health seriously.
Disability & Accessibility
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Mental health challenges range in severity. While some are moderate, others can significantly impair a person’s ability to function, fulfill school/work obligations, maintain healthy relationships, and enjoy an overall positive quality of life. In other words, mental illnesses can be disabling.
According to the World Health Organization Global Burden of Disease studies, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Major depressive disorder has a disability weight (measurement of impact on daily life) comparable to complete blindness. In other words, mental conditions can be just as disabling as physical conditions.
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Mental health diagnoses are private medical information. Laws such as HIPAA, FERPA, and the ADA* protect individuals’ rights to privacy, and provide protection against discrimination.
* HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
Schools and employers generally cannot access your medical records without your consent, and in most cases cannot require you to disclose a diagnosis during the application process or afterward. Exceptions are rare and limited to legally defined safety concerns (i.e. immediate risk of harm, safety-sensitive roles).
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Your mental health information is private and protected by default. However, there may be situations where choosing to disclose is beneficial. For example, you may choose to share relevant mental health information with your school/employer’s accessibility office in order to request reasonable accommodations.
Reasonable accommodations are individualized supports that help you fully participate and fulfill obligations in school/work. Some examples include: extended test time, flexible deadlines, reduced course load, quiet test space, breaks during exams, alternative exam/participation formats, altered schedule, access to support staff, etc.
Even in these situations, your privacy remains protected. You only need to share necessary information (e.g. a provider letter) with need-to-know individuals (e.g. accessibility office staff). You don’t have to choose between maintaining privacy and receiving support.