Asian Americans’ psychological state over the last few years has been one of hypervigilance and pretending — constantly having to act as if everything is “business as usual” even amid high-profile anti-Asian attacks and the aftereffects of collective trauma, health advocates and experts tell Axios.
Though Asian Americans have always faced racism in the U.S., the spike in anti-Asian hate of the last few years has brought on a crisis of its own. Now, with the two-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings casting a long shadow, data shows that the longer-term impacts of living in a state of heightened fear are emerging.
People often assume that Asian Americans don’t need support systems due to “remnants of the model minority myth that are still so prevalent in today’s society,” said Sy Stokes, the vice president of research at the nonprofit research thinktank Coqual. But as Asian Americans across the country continue to grapple with acts of violence, many say cracks are appearing in ways that are interfering with their ability to live their everyday lives.
“I don’t think we’ve yet to contend with what that meant … like feeling like I can’t leave my house or go to the grocery store without being afraid that someone is going to say something or assault me,” Theresa Nguyen, the nonprofit Mental Health America’s chief research officer, told Axios.
Read more at Axios.com.
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