Naomi Osaka shines a light on a taboo topic in the AANHPI communities

Tennis player Naomi Osaka has us talking about mental health.

When one of tennis' best players, Naomi Osaka, dropped out of the French Open, she put a spotlight on what many Asian Americans are experiencing today, inundated with the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and hate.

She put into words what many AAPI would like to express to their co-workers, friends and family, "I need help."

With one tweet, Osaka brought more attention to mental health than members of Congress were able to do a month earlier.

On May 10, AAPI Congressmembers Marilyn Strickland, D-WA;  Judy Chu, D-CA; Kai Kahele D-HI, and Doris Matsui, D-CA  introduced the first congressional resolution to recognize May 10th as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental Health Day. 

“Ending the stigma surrounding mental health care in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community is long overdue,” said Congresswoman Strickland. “The sickening rise in anti-Asian hate crimes has stressed our community and we need to prioritize the mental health and wellbeing of our friends, loved ones, and elders."

This resolution calls upon Members of Congress to promote national awareness of mental health issues unique to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community and urges State and local health agencies across the nation to improve the quality and availability of mental health services for this population. 

According to data collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), AANHPIs have the lowest help-seeking rate of any racial/ethnic group, with only 23.3% of AANHPI adults with a mental illness receiving treatment in 2019. 

Even though suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, it is the leading cause of death for Asian or Pacific Islander youth ages 15-24. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these problems as increased racial violence and discrimination against the Asian American community has increased the need for mental health services.

Osaka, who is Black, Asian, and female, may have contended with an even greater sense of vulnerability this past year, in light of the Black Lives Matter protests and the increased violence against Asian Americans. Studies have shown that individuals suffer from vicarious trauma when members of their group are targeted and discriminated against. 

Adding to the difficulty of diagnosing our mental health is the fact that what is considered the norm in Asian American culture frowns upon speaking out, which could exacerbate anxiety and vulnerability. That may explain why Asian Americans are also the least likely racial group to seek and utilize mental health services.

Geoffrey Liu, MD, a psychiatrist in McLean’s Harvard Medical School's Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Program, explained the significance of stigma in the community. “For some Asian Americans,” he said, “there’s a real sense that your value as a person depends on your ability to take care of your family and community.”

Liu continued in his interview , “This way of thinking originated, for East Asians, from an ancient philosophical tradition called Confucianism. Mental illness is seen—and I should emphasize, incorrectly—as taking away a person’s ability to care for others. For that reason, it’s seen as taking away someone’s identity or purpose. It’s the ultimate form of shame.”

Many Asian Americans have fallen for the model minority myth in which they are supposed to seamlessly integrate into their new society. They characterize themselves as intelligent, industrious, and fully in charge of their lives. For many, admitting to “weakness” would be letting down the entire community.

“It’s easy to say that the reason Asian Americans don’t seek care is the way their culture stigmatizes mental illness,” said Liu. “That stance, though, ignores the role we all play in enhancing stigma by allowing dangerous stereotypes, like ‘model minority,’ to persist.”

Osaka's candor about her mental health may have opened the doors to further discussion among AANHPI. Writing in Psychology Today, Dr. Kevin Nadal, says one way AANHPI can counter the stigma associated with mental health is to normalize talking about it. 

"If you can ask your elders about whether they’ve gotten vaccinated, you can ask them about their mental health. When you can ask your kids about their homework, also ask them about their stressors and coping strategies," write Nadal.

The normal greeting of "How are you?" can gain new meaning by following up with, "How are you feeling?"

"Ask loved ones directly about their emotions;" continued Nadal. "Inquire about how their mental health has been throughout the pandemic; even question how they are coping with the traumas of COVID and racial violence.

If high-profile athletes like Osaka can be depressed or anxious, that same feeling or symptom can seep into the lives of ordinary people who are exposed to same stressors encountered by Osaka. We might not have to worry about talking to the press, or how well you play in a tennis match; but we worry about our jobs, the health of our family, paying rent, our exposure to COVID and being hyper aware of the possibility that a racist that may be walking your way, or eyeing you on the subway.

So, yes. We're all vulnerable.