Hyein Cha, Deanna Nguyen, Jonathan ChauYour eyes are blurry and you check the time: 4am. It has officially reached the ungodly hour when you start questioning the choices of the past. Just a couple more slides, words, pages, and then you can dissolve into your bed, but you know the stress will still linger. You can’t help wondering: How did I get here?
As the year comes to a close and the end of the first fall quarter approaches, all students have one thing on their minds: final exams. The weeks leading up to exams are often painted in coffee, group study sessions, cramming, and a feeling of stress. According to the American Institute of Stress, stress and academic performance made up a majority (73%) of the reasons that students sought counseling in 2017, often leading to deteriorating mental health. Over the course of the past decade, mental illness has become a global epidemic and often a defining characteristic of the millennial generation (Alexa, play Generation Why by Conan Gray). However, in recent years, mental health has been an especially growing concern among college students, with 50% of students reporting below-average or poor mental health (National Alliance for Mental Illness). Asian American students in particular struggle with high rates of mental health and anxiety. Studies have found that Asian Americans were three times less likely to seek mental health services than their non-Asian counterparts (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). What is preventing Asian American college students from seeking help from mental health professionals? A study conducted by Spencer et. al in 2010 shows that most young Asian-Americans tend to seek out support from personal networks such as close friends, family members and religious community members rather than seek professional help for their mental health concerns. The biggest deterrent in seeking professional help is the negative stigma surrounding mental health issues within the Asian community and how the society views Asians as a model minority. The pressure of widely being viewed as a “model minority” and a perfect “A student” can be crippling to Asian and Asian American students’ mental health and well-being. Because of the popular belief that Asian students are inherently born with superb intelligence and the ability to succeed and go the extra mile, many students and peers do not think that Asian students have much that they go through. However, in reality, Asian students live under extreme stress and anxiety to work up to that expectation. Furthermore, Asian students are often subject to comparison with their peers from their family members, which adds on an extra burden on their shoulders. Due to the honor/shame cultures that suppress negative experiences, students of Asian backgrounds are forced to refrain from seeking the necessary mental health services and counseling to help cope with their stress and treat mental-illness. Mental illness, rather than being viewed as an actual ailment that must be treated, is often viewed as a weakness, inferiority, and something to be ashamed of for Asian students. Because this belief is rarely challenged, Asian and Asian American students are used to not voicing their hardships, which can be detrimental to relieving stress and preventing mental illness. In the wake of such high incidents of mental illness among college students, the significance of seeking out mental health treatment cannot be stressed enough. Students with severe stress often struggle to concentrate, sleep, and maintain physical health. Inability to concentrate often also causes academic performance to suffer, which incites even more stress -- thus, creating a positive (or negative, depending on the way you put it) feedback loop that can lead to sharp rise in mental illnesses. Asian American suicide rates have increased over the past couple of years from 7.1 (2011) to 13.4 (2015) suicides for every 100,000 young individuals and were 1.6 times more likely to make a serious suicide attempt than their non-Asian peers. Suicide is also the leading cause of death among Asian American adolescents, accounting for one-third of all deaths for individuals age 20-24 (National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). That number is unusually high, especially for a result that is preventable. It speaks a lot more than just stereotypes and generalizations. Just because you fail an exam doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Even the smartest of minds have gone through this same process too. The only ones who choose to let a mere number control their future are the ones that give up. That can be one way to respond to a micro-stain on your career, but it certainly isn’t the most ideal. Others have resorted to alcohol and drugs to escape from their stress, but that would lead to a not-so fantastic ending to you or the ones around you. There are a multiple better ways to help drive stress away. Here are some tips and tricks to escape from the stress listed below: Quick ways to defeat stress:
Some more effective resources to seek:
Your grades and failures do not define who you are. It’s how you respond to these results that matters. Do not be afraid to reach out for help. We wish you luck in your future endeavors!
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