8 Asians

The it’s ok Campaign is an effort to battle the stigma of depression and mental illness in Asian American communities.  This project run by the Corporate Asian American Employee Network (CAAEN) will center its efforts around their Facebook page, where they will provide articles and statistics about mental health along with links to mental health providers and community groups.  The message of it’s ok is that is okay to ask for help with mental health [...] Continue »

While most of us are aware there’s a new healthcare law coming, there’s probably few among the non-native speakers of English that really understand how it affects them. That’s why it’s so important the presentation titled “The Health Care Law and You” has been translated into 10 different Asian languages. This resource has been translated by the Office of Public Engagement at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services into the following languages: Chinese, Tagalog, [...] Continue »

We do. And according to this New York Times article, “East Asian Physical Traits Linked to 35,000-Year-Old Mutation” by Nicholas Wade, East Asians also have: thicker hair shafts more sweat glands characteristically identified teeth smaller breasts The article references a study trying to figure out the gene(s) that causes the variations between people on different continents. This particular study looked at the EDAR gene. According to the article, “Africans and Europeans carry the standard version [...] Continue »

When I saw this sign at the start of a run at Coyote Point, a park on San Francisco Bay, I thought to myself, “do people really eat a lot of fish from the Bay?”  Apparently many do, as a few miles down from this sign I saw people fishing.  I also  remembered that when I was growing up, we did eat a large striped bass that my father caught in the Bay.  Enough people, [...] Continue »

Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California (APIDC) is taking an informal survey to gather anecdotes about the experiences of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders with the mental health system. APIDC has been accepted to present on this subject at “Health Disparities Research at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity and Disability: A National Conference” in Washington D.C. on April 26, 2013. This conference is organized by Project Intersect, Oregon Health & Science University. APIDC [...] Continue »

Lack of knowledge about cancer screening is contributing to a rising rate of cancer in Korean Americans, their leading cause of death.  Kyeung Mi Oh, a professor at George Mason University School of Nursing, conducted a study that finds that this cause surpasses any other cause like fatalistic beliefs or lack of health insurance.  Colorectal Cancer Screening Knowledge, Beliefs and Practices of Korean Americans, done with Professor Gary Kreps, chair of Mason’s Department of Communication and director [...] Continue »

When a short film says that it is partially inspired by Taylor Swift’s “You Belong to Me” music video, it may not seem like a good sign, but that should not stop you from watching Fireflies.  This is another advocacy piece from the Jubilee Project, which also did The Last Pick.  I won’t say what they advocating – finding that out is part of what makes Fireflies enjoyable.   More information on how you can help [...] Continue »

A few weekends ago was the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that decided on the issue of abortion, allowing a woman the right to choose to have an abortion or not. To be honest, I did not know where Asian Americans fall on this issue until referencing the landmark Pew Research study on Asians Americans last year: “About half (54%) of Asian Americans say abortion should be legal in [...] Continue »

Asian American women above the age of 65 have the highest suicide rate of any American ethnic group of women, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  Their suicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 was followed by white women at 4.3 per 100,000.   Mental health experts say that even decades after arriving in the US, many Asian American immigrant women still feel isolated.  A study from Loyola Marymount University published in 2007 says [...] Continue »

This study conducted by neuroscientist Brian Gold finds that people who have been bilingual since childhood have faster brains and suggests that this kind of bilingualism can slow the mental decline in aging.  Both seniors and younger people’s bilingual brains were also found to be more efficient at performing certain mental activities involving switching between tasks.  I found this finding particularly ironic because some Asian Americans speak only English because it was thought that speaking [...] Continue »

by Shako Liu I am surprised that the Chinese traditional practice “Zuo yuezi” (坐月子), sitting the month, referring to a specific diet and lifestyle of women after childbirth for one month, is considered a news story by a mainstream media. The Los Angeles Times recently profiled this thousand-year-old practice, citing a new Chinese American mom’s practicing “zuo yuezi.” Back in 2004, The Los Angeles Times covered the changing ways that new Chinese moms in China [...] Continue »

In this piece from The Fil Am magazine, Asian American journalist Ryan Macasero opens up about his struggle with depression.  He talks about how depression first set in during childhood and how free mental health services in college helped him overcome that depression.  In his story, I see elements common among many stories about Asian American mental health.