Growing up as an Asian American, I’ve always felt that society expected me to be successful without really knowing my life history, class, personality, aptitude, or interests. I also grew up in a town where Asian Americans made up <1% of the population and so, stereotypes were magnified and expectations for a child in one family often translated to expectations for another. Many of the Asian American students in my town were very successful as a result: several went on to top private schools and acquired lucrative careers.

However, with an increase in awareness of mental health disorders, I’ve noticed that several of my fellow Asian American peers struggled to take care of their mental health. Pressured by the seemingly harmless stereotype that “Asians are good at math and science,” this so-called “compliment” has actually developed into a microaggression that affects the future and the lifestyle of Asian Americans.

Despite having incredible talent in non-STEM fields, they pursued fields in which they did not have a strong passion and ended up struggling to continue in these fields and sometimes even to simply continue with any sort of vocational pursuit. Apart from these stereotypes, cultural clashes between an Asian parent's traditions and American culture are often another contributing factor. This is probably the most prominent reason behind why first-generation Asian Americans have undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues.

I have no comprehensive answer for how to integrate cultures since each individual’s experiences are different, but I would like to offer some advice that has helped me as well as many of my other Asian American peers in finding independence, accepting the intersection of multiple cultures, and pursuing a meaningful life.

Firstly, I would like to start off with the fact that, according to the World Health Organization, South Korea is ranked the highest for suicide rates among developed countries that also have a booming economy. Japan is also ranked highly. Mental health has largely been ignored in eastern Asian countries but is clearly very prevalent, and ignoring mental health disorders has made it difficult for Asian American families, particularly first- and second-generation families, to acknowledge that extended dips in mood and happiness could potentially be due to something that could be easily treatable.

Finding any sort of counseling - regardless of whether or not it feels necessary - will help with mood and with any sort of hardships that an individual is going through. This is particularly true for Asian Americans who have internal conflicts about identity, what their role in society is, and how to maintain both cultures in their identities. I would say that, personally, having a counselor has helped me walk through the root of why I am upset at certain moments in my life and has helped me let go of past situations that I can no longer control.

Another factor that greatly helps is finding financial independence. While some individuals feel and are extremely lucky to have families support that them through college, and sometimes even beyond, financial independence eliminates some of the guilt that accompanies accepting help from family for education and frees an individual to pursue those interests that truly make them happy.

Finally, what I feel is of the utmost importance - beyond financial independence and beyond counseling - is having a strong peer support system. This can be with any community of people, and these relationships can be as deep and meaningful as an individual wants them to be. Having someone or a group of people supporting you throughout the ups and downs of one’s life makes a whole world of difference.

Additionally, I would suggest finding some friends that have experiences totally different from yours. If you are, say, an Asian-American from a big city and only have friends who are Asian-American from big cities, I think you will find friends with new perspectives and experiences refreshing and exciting. Hearing their take on your own struggles provides a viewpoint that you have not heard before from friends that go through experiences similar to yours.

Step out of your comfort zone when meeting people, but always make sure that

1. They are genuinely interested in your success, well-being, and development into a better human being.

2. They are open-minded but challenge your decisions so that you question your own moral values, but also honestly support you when you make decisions that make you uncertain of your future.

3. You are also interested in their well-being and success. Without this reciprocity, friendships feel one-sided and often tend to fall apart.

Every person goes through hardships and it is important to remember that giving support and advice is as equally important as taking them.

Huge thanks to Hae-na Chung for helping me with this article.