SOUTH KOREA – According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, AAPIs have the lowest rate of seeking help from any racial or ethnic group.
And research by the National Latino and Asian American Study found that only 8.6% of Asian Americans sought out mental health services, compared to 18% of the general U.S. population.
In Asian communities, there is still a stigma about treating mental health issues. Being depressed isnโt seen as a real problem. And some Asians are wary of being perceived negatively if they do seek outside help.
The younger generation may not be suffering in the same way as their parents or grandparents, but theyโre dealing with the real-life barrage of anti-Asian violence, racial discrimination, and microaggressions about who they are. But theyโve found allies in K-pop idols, who have been opening up about their own struggles and how theyโre dealing with them.
Compare this to how former Royal Pirates bassist James Lee said he was treated when his hand was nearly severed in a freak accident seven years ago.
He went on a K-drama audition just weeks after his first surgery, because he had been told it would be good visibility for his band.
โIt had been so conditioned in me to work through the pain and never give up that I felt I had to go to the audition,โ James told me in 2019. โWhen I didnโt get the role, I felt like a failure. I wrote my suicide note, [which] eventually became my song โThe Light.โ My friends and family were able to help me survive.โ
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