The online reporting center Stop AAPI Hate documented nearly 3,800 cases of anti-Asian hate between March of last year and February of this year. The increase in reported hate incidents ranging from verbal attacks to fatal assaults is leaving many on high alert. Experts say racism can create debilitating effects on mental health.
“Asians were not only fighting the pandemic but we were fighting racism,” said Dr. Carolee Tran, clinical psychologist and instructor at UC Davis. “It’s tragic and unacceptable that it took the events of Atlanta to really get the attention of the general public,” Tran said. “When we have these incidents, we watch them on TV, we watch on the news, we feel all these things in our body.”
A 2011 analysis of studies into racism and mental health among Asian Americans revealed significant relationships between discrimination and depression and anxiety.
“Awareness of racism and living in a scary, atmosphere causes one to be hypervigilant. It affects our prefrontal cortex, the amygdala,” Tran said. “These are the areas of the brain that impact affect and emotions. It can affect people’s concentration, attention, a sense of motivation even. You can feel more fatigue.”
Trauma, advocates say, that is collectively felt now by many Asian Americans.
Read more at KCRA.com.
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