Breaking the Silence: Congressional Reps want May 10 declared as AANHPI Mental Health Day

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Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have traditionally  been reluctant to seek mental health assistance. In an attempt to bring attention to this silent statistic, the first Congressional resolution was introduced to recognize May 10 as AANHPI Mental Health Day.

“Our mental health is impacted by all aspects of our lives, yet it is a topic that AANHPIs seldom talk about," read a statement from the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA). "This resolution can play a critical role in raising awareness around the importance of having difficult conversations while also recognizing that mental health is also about celebrating who we are as we embrace our cultural heritage.”

May 10 has been recognized as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Mental Health Day in the State of California since 2010, but is not a federally recognized day yet. 

This federal 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. 

RELATED: How the mental health system fails AANHPI communities

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, but 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. 

“This Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, more Americans than ever are rallying around our community to help stop anti-Asian hate. But there is another long-term threat to the wellbeing of our communities, and that is the lack of mental healthcare that meets the needs of the AANHPI community,” said Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, who sponsored the resolution and who is chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“Either because of stigma or the lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate care, many AANHPIs neglect their mental health, and it has resulted in disproportionate rates of problems like suicide and depression," said Chu. "That is why, today and for the rest of Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s essential that we urge all AANHPIs to take care of their mental health just as they would their physical health."

Chu was joined by U.S. Representatives Doris Matsui D0CA, Kai Kahele (HI-02), and Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) in introducing this resolution.

“Nearly all of us have a friend, family member, or loved one who lives with a mental illness. That is why it is critical that we continue to break down barriers to care and work to end the stigma in our communities,” said Matsui. 

“Especially over the past year, members of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities have been challenged by both the pandemic and the rise in anti-AAPI racism. Now, more than ever, we must meet this moment with a comprehensive health care strategy that prioritizes our mental health and well-being," said Matsui.

“AANHPI communities have some of the greatest mental health needs, but access to culturally competent and in-language services remain a barrier that has only been exasperated by the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and the surge in hate incidents,” said Juliet K. Choi, president and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Mother accused of decapitating son

ASAM NEWS

LIHUI LIU

A HOUSTON MOTHER of a five-year-old boy is accused of drowning and decapitating him before dumping the body in the trash can, reports KTRK.

Lihui Liu, 43, is scheduled to be in court Thursday (Dec. 6) on the charges.

Kai Xu said his wife has fought depression on and off for years. He revealed that his wife had been treated for mental health problems after a suicide attempt in August, She had been prescribed antidepressants but she refused to take them, said Xu.

On Friday, his older daughter went to school, while his son stayed home. Xu said he hoped it would brighten her mood.

"She loved her children. I thought having my son with her that day would put her in a good mood," he said. "But the result was terrible."

Police arrested her after responding to a stabbing call on Friday. Her husband told authorities he returned home and questioned his wife about their son’s whereabouts. That’s when he said she told him he was in the trash can. Investigators later found the bloody knife in the bathroom and a blood-spattered bathtub, where he apparently was drowned before being beheaded, according to the
Houston Chronicle.

When the father returned home, Liu reportedly told him that she didn't know where the boy had gone. She later revealed what had happened. The boy's remains were found in the trashcan.

The paper also reported Child Protective Services had been to the house in 2015, but that the children had never been in protective custody.

A judge denied Liu’s bail request. She remains in Harris County jail.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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Study: Depression, loneliness haunt Chinese American elderly

ASAM NEWS

A new study has found older Chinese Americans live healthier and happier lives if they are socially connected and maintain ties to their culture, reports Rutgers Today.
Researcher XinQi Dong of Rutger University’s Institute of Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, interviewed 3,000 Chinese Americans ages 60 and over in the Chicago area.

The researchers concluded that depression and loneliness may negatively impact cognitive function, but those effects can be alleviated by individual, social and family resources.

According to the American Council on Science & Health, the authors of the study believe that there’s a direct connection between memory loss and loneliness and depression.

“The key finding of this study is that loneliness was associated with poor global cognitive functioning in U.S. Chinese older adults,” the authors wrote. “We suspect that loneliness and depressive symptoms act together to influence cognitive functioning.”

The same study also found that Chinese Americans have a higher rate of psychological distress, dementia and cancer, especially in the elderly.

“Health is multifaceted,” Dong said. “These studies reinforce the idea that we cannot just look at the individual, but must take into account the person’s social, community, national and cultural contexts. More systematic and integrated approaches are needed to generate and translate knowledge in Asian populations in order to move the needle on health equity in our increasing diverse populations.”

Sunday Read: Albert Wong, the Veterans Home gunman, knew he needed help

The Sherr family released this photo to media showing them with Albert Wong, left.

IT'S ALMOST a cliche: the man who apparently fatally shot three mental health professionals in Yountville, California, was described as a quiet man who never got angry.
Behind the quiet facade was a young boy who lost his parents at a young age and ended up in the foster system, and a former solder who sought help to fight his inner demons.

Albert Wong and his three hostages were found dead Friday evening after a seven-hour police siege at the Veterans Home of California.

We may never find out why he walked into a going-away party at the Veterans Home campus geared up as if he was going to battle, carrying a rifle and in a calm demeanor,  He singled out the three women as hostages and let the other people at the event leave the room.

After failing to contact him all day, the police finally entered the building where he had holed up and police found the bodies of the hostages and Wong in an apparent murder-suicide.

RELATED: Gunman, hostages found dead

Wong had served in the infantry of the U.S. Army and was deployed to Afghanistan from April 2011 to March 2012, according to information provided by the Army. He was honorably discharged in 2013.

Albert Wong

Army friends of the gunman told the Sacramento Bee paint a picture of the shooter as a veteran struggling to reintegrate into civilian life.

“It’s very shocking. I’ve never seen him yell or be angry,” said Ricardo Saenz, who has been friends with Wong since they went through basic training together. “It’s really saddening what happened to him and the people he hurt.”

Saenz, who lives in Texas with his wife, offered to take Wong in but Wong declined. "He had nobody to turn to. He was ashamed to ask for help. He didn’t know his family," said Saenz.

He told the Bee that Wong had trouble getting reimbursed through the GI bill program for classes he took. Saenz said Wong told him he suffered post traumatic stress disorder and was homeless after being put out of the VA program.

“He was trying to put his feet on the ground and it was hard for him,” Saenz said. “I'm disappointed he didn’t ask for help. None of this should have happened. He should have taken help.”

Wong's former guardians Cissy and Matthew Sherr, of Milbrae, California said they knew 36-year-old Albert Wong for 30 years.

They took the young boy in when Wong's father died and his mother, because of health problems, could not care for him. He stayed with them until he was a teenager. 

"We were a young couple and had a nice home [and took him in]," Matthew Sherr told KCRA-tV. 

“I’m shocked, saddened,” Matthew Sherr said. “I feel so bad.”

"His relatives lived in Southern California. Nobody really stepped forward to take him," Cissy Sherr told ABC-TV. "So, we took him. He was eight by then."

Wong entered the foster system because both of the Sherrs had full-time jobs and were not able to care for him. Though he entered the foster system, Wong stayed in contac with the Sherrs. 

After Wong returned from his deployment in Afghanistan, he moved back in with the Sherrs. Cissy Sherr said Wong knew he needed help, and he sought it.

Another of Wong's Army buddies, Jeffrey Watts, said he kept contact with Wong even though Watts lived in Georgia. Watts told the Bee that Wong had been “put out on the street without a treatment plan” after multiple “run ins with staff and other patients at the VA home over racial disparities.”

The three women who Wong kept as hostages -- Christine Loeber, 48; Jennifer Golick, 42; and Jennifer Gonzales, 29 -- were part of the Pathway Home residential  program designed to help veterans readjust to civilian life and to cope with PTSD.  The three women victims were  

According to law enforcement sources, Wong had reportedly threatened one of the women with violence and that was the reason he was dismissed from the program.

"One of the last long messages he wrote me was that he was involved in the (Pathway Home) program," Cissy Sherr said. "He sounded so hopeful that he was getting help there. That there was a live-in component of it, because he knew that his living situation was difficult."

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Mental Health: Asian Americans suffer in silence

ASIAN/AMERICANS suffering from mental illnesses are less likely to seek help than other ethnic groups. In fact, compared to Euro/Americans they are three times less likely to seek mental health services.

Much of this reluctance among Asian/Americans is attributed to the social stigma associated with mental problems.

According to Dr. Kevin Nadal, president of the Asian American Psychological Association and professor at John Jay College in New York, many Asian-American families hold a "notion of shame and stigma" around mental illness and that "bringing shame to one's family can be especially detrimental to a person's mental health."

CBS Evening News Uncharted: State of Mind" is a new five-part digital series airing in May with new episodes released every Wednesday. This month, the series will examine the state of mental health care in America in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month. More than 43 million Americans suffer from mental illness. The third installment of the series deals with mental illness within the AAPI community.

The online episode focuses on a Chinese/American woman named Sara (She didn't want to divulge her last name.)

Suffering from depression, a victim of bullying and molested by a relative, she attempted suicide more than once. She was in and out of hospitals as a result. "I hated my life, I hated myself," she said.

Looking back, she attributed the reluctance of her family to seek assistance to the social stigma and shame that mental illness could bring to the family.

Nadal says that the Asian/American community sometimes turns a "blind eye to things like sexual assault," domestic violence and child abuse because of shame or stigma.

Watching her daughter go deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole, Sara's mother finally sought professional help. In her late teens, Sara was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. She was dealing with symptoms like hallucinations, auditory delusions, paranoia and depression all at once.

But with intense therapy and a search for the right medication, Sara began to get better. 
"Medication gave me my life back. If I didn't take medication I'd probably be dead," she said.

For Sara, hope is what keeps her fighting to survive.

Besides the social stigma associated with mental health, these are some other reasons API are reluctant to seek help:

• AAPI don't see mental illness as treatable. They tend think that inner reflection will cure any emotional and mental distress. Most of all, they believe, don't tell anyone outside the family.
• Language barriers and a lack of providers who understand Asian cultures contribute to that disparity. 
• In Asia, mental illnesses are less likely to be treated as medical conditions, according to Mariko Kahn, the executive director of Pacific Asian Counseling Services. 
• Many Asian languages have no words to describe mental illness, except words with negative connotations.

If you're having suicidal thoughts or know someone that is, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK. For Asian language services from the Asian American Suicide Prevention and Education, call 1-877-990-8585.

49er exec no longer silent about the eating disorder that claimed his sister

49ers

Paraag Marathe

PARAAG MARATHE usually doesn't seek the limelight. He's used to working behind the scenes on the business side of the NFL's 49ers as executive vice president of football and business operations.

He's used to being in control, whether it be with the 49ers or in his earlier career in Silicon Valley. Until recently, the one topic he hasn't been able to handle was how anorexia claimed the life of his older sister 11 years ago 

At the time of the death of his sister Shipa, in 2011, she had withered down to a weight of 50 lbs. It took him years of battling regret and shame to be able to talk openly about his sister and her illness.

One of the ways he has been able to get through the grieving process is to become a spokesperson for treating eating disorders. He can cite the statistics from memory: 30 million Americans are believed to suffer from eating disorders; anorexia, the illness that claimed his sister, has the highest fatality rate among mental illnesses; the illness affects men as well as young, white girls.

The goal of being skinny or conforming to the "petite" stereotype afflicts Asian and Asian/American women as well. Earlier this year, the social media trend that emanated from Asia, dubbed the A4 Waist Challenge, had women holding a sheet of paper vertically against their midsection to show how “paper thin” they are. Participants posted photos of themselves with the paper on social media using the hashtag #A4Waist.

In Asian cultures, thin is the default body type, and there's collective pressure to maintain it. "It's a given that women are supposed to be thin, and people think it's your fault if you're not," says says Juliana Chang, a Chinese-American who moved from California to Taiwan when she was 11 and had disordered eating habits throughout high school.

"Asians want women to be small, thin, and quiet, and I think that has a lot to do with sexist ideals that say women should be docile and obedient," she says. Even though Marathe welcomes his new role, he still has difficulty discussing what happened to his sister with his parents, immigrants from India. They raised their children in well-to-do San Jose suburb, Saratoga, Calif., a stones' throw from Silicon Valley.

He went to UC-Berkeley and received his MBA from Stanford. His sister went to UCLA to receive her law degree where she excelled academically.
Marathe told the San Jose Mercury News he never heard his parents talk openly about what was happening to their family. And he hasn’t figured out how to break the silence, although he plans to do so soon.

“Immigrant families are particularly susceptible, because of the whole Tiger Mother, Tiger Father concept,” Marathe said. “You don’t talk about your feelings. There’s no such thing as mental illness. You don’t want to bring shame on the family by being put in an inpatient facility.”

A native of Saratoga, Calif., Marathe received his bachelor’s degree with high honors from the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley and his MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.