“Since moving to the United States at 15, Ok Kyung Kim says she has felt free, like she always had more than enough of what she needed. But the pandemic and the Georgia shootings changed that, she says.
….
“I’m an Asian elderly who live in the U.S.A., but, yes, I’m afraid of to go out and have a shopping and go outside, so I still I have some worries, so not totally free, and I don’t feel safe anymore in this community.””
Although the numbers of Asians experiencing anxiety and depression is rising, Asians in the United States access mental health care at half the rate of other racial groups, according to a 2019 study published by the American Psychiatric Association.
This study cites “feelings of shame, stigmatization, and an unwillingness to burden others” as reasons Asian immigrants and Asian Americans did not seek out therapy.
“Stigma toward seeking mental healthcare, or even expressing emotions, is significant among Asian American cultures, Hsu said. Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek mental healthcare than white Americans, according to data collected in 2012 from the National Latino and Asian American Study.”
