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Asian Americans are among the least likely to seek mental health care. In one study, less than 9% sought any type of mental health services over one year compared with 18% of the general U.S. population. The COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by an increase in anti-Asian hate and violence, has further highlighted the lack of mental health awareness, research and treatment among the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

These were among the issues addressed by a virtual panel of mental health experts during a May 25 event organized by the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education. The panelists, who shared personal and professional experiences, discussed the current state of mental health among the AAPI community and ways to overcome barriers to care.

Raising awareness is key to encouraging AAPIs to seek mental health care, said DJ Ida, PhD, executive director of the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association. A silver lining of the ongoing pandemic has been more awareness that mental health issues can affect anyone, she said.

“It begins to take the stigma away because it isn’t, ‘Oh, there is something wrong with me,’” she said. “We always tell people, if you’re breathing, then mental health will be part of your life one way or another.” She added that even mental health professionals like her can forget to give themselves the space to feel grief and pain in difficult times.

As a suicide attempt survivor, Pata Suyemoto, PhD, director of training and programs at the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, shared her own experience of seeking mental health care.

“It was difficult to find a therapist that had cultural humility,” she said. “I’m 60 years old — until my current therapist, no one ever asked me about the impact of my culture on my mental health.” Her mother’s bipolar disorder and her father’s trauma of being imprisoned during World War II in an internment camp were never acknowledged out loud in her family — a silence familiar to many in the AAPI community. “As an Asian American, I feel like it’s really important for us to be out with our healing, if you will,” she said.

Read more at Med.Stanford.edu.

Carol Seppilu (Siberian Yupik) was born on Saint Lawrence Island, west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea. She suffered a harsh childhood, which led to depression and alcoholism. Some 23 years ago in the month of September, at age 16, she attempted suicide after a night of heavy drinking.

The years that followed were extremely challenging for Seppilu. After the attempt to take her own life, she had to undergo numerous painful surgeries, including a tracheotomy and the insertion of a permanent tube in her neck to help her breathe. Depression loomed over her, and she spent most of her days in bed, sometimes up to 20 hours.

She remembers thinking one day, “Carol, you need to get up and do something.” So she laced up her shoes, got her dog — a mixed breed Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky named Solar — and began a two-mile run around her neighborhood. As a result, her once small steps have become powerful strides. Since then, Seppilu has used running as a tool for battling depression. She describes running as a form of medication and prayer — a pure joy she hasn’t found anywhere else that allows her to listen to nature and connect with her ancestors.

Her closest friend, Crystal Toolie, said she hopes more people will hear Seppilu’s story so that there is an awareness of not only the importance of mental health but to bring awareness of the historical trauma that the Alaska Native community is going through.

Stories of suicide are sadly familiar in Indian Country. Native peoples have the highest rates of suicide of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. — up to three times higher, according to estimates. The numbers are particularly worrisome for younger generations of Native Americans. In 2019, suicide was the second-leading cause of death for Native peoples between the ages of 10 and 34.

Read more at NativeNewsOnline.net.

You might think, with the dawn of 2022, that frank talk about mental health is as common as passing the butter at the dinner table. And in truth, we’ve come a long way from the days of denial and labeling people with psychological challenges as damaged goods. But for the average African American, acknowledging that your emotional, psychological, and social well-being is affecting your everyday life is still very taboo, especially for Black men.

There are many layers as to why African American men disproportionally suffer quietly from mental illness but a lot of it can be attributed to equity issues and racism, suggests Edwin C. Chapman, M.D., an internist specializing in addiction medicine at the Black Mental Health Alliance, a collaboration of doctors and experts dedicated to the wellness of Black people, located in Baltimore, MD. If you want to get to the root of the issue, this phenomenon of Black men suffering silently with mental illness “comes from a history of slavery, segregation, and the Jim Crow era,” says Dr. Chapman.

“[Black men] were always taught to not let people see them suffering, so we hide it, internalize it, and don’t talk about it,” says Dr. Chapman. “It comes from a long tradition of oppression and as a result of that, anxiety and depression, which is often misinterpreted in our community as a sign of weakness. Denial is really a defense mechanism and [a way] to hide that hurt.”

In the past few years, a growing effort has been made by Black male athletes, artists, and celebrities to come forward and speak openly about their mental health struggles. The hope: By being candid about their situations, it may reduce the stigma and give other Black men the confidence to do the same. It’s a step in the right direction, say experts, but more needs to be done.

Read more at HealthCentral.com.

When Machelle Jordan joined the Navy in 1996, she quickly rose through the ranks and was sent on top secret missions to just about every country surrounding the Persian Gulf.

“I was a very motivated sailor. I knew what I wanted,” said Jordan, who now lives in Sandwich.

And while she reached pinnacles of success, becoming a Middle East analyst, fluent in Arabic and Farsi, she said she and other women came away from the military with post-traumatic stress disorder connected to experiences during combat operations, military sexual trauma, and feelings of isolation.

In 1999, Jordan was sexually assaulted by a shipmate during her first deployment. And while she was viewed as strong, capable, and in control by her counterparts, she said the trauma from the assault affected her throughout her military career.

“There was no time to feel sorry for myself,” she said during a recent interview. “I had to compartmentalize and get through it.”

Many women in the military and military spouses face a range of struggles and challenges, said Nicole Spencer, executive director of Heroes in Transition, an organization that provides assistance to veterans, service members, and their families.

This is why Marie Bartram, owner of All 4 Healing Wellness Center, and Sheryll Reichwein, an author, created “Reboot,” a six-week program that helps female veterans, active duty members, and military spouses build resilience, foster health, and well-being, and create routines for sustainable self-care.

Read more at CapeCodTimes.com.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, FBI data shows that people of Asian descent increasingly have been targets of racially motivated attacks.

“Hate crimes have spilled over to affect the community in dramatic ways. People feel scapegoated and blamed for the pandemic,” said Dr. Howard Kyongju Koh, the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

That has fueled a rise in anxiety and depression in a population that is already one of the least likely to access much-needed mental health services, according to the nonprofit Mental Health America.

Koh, who is a former U.S. assistant secretary for health and of Korean descent, has written extensively about racially motivated violence against Asian Americans and its health consequences. A recent article he co-wrote in the journal Health Affairs cites national polls from 2020 and 2021 in which more than a third of Asian adults in the U.S. said their mental health worsened during the pandemic, with 58% saying reports of violence against other Asian people affected their mental health.

In 2019, just 9%-10% of U.S. adults of Asian descent reported mental health issues, according to federal statistics. A 2021 survey by the Asian American Psychological Association showed the level at more than 40% since the arrival of COVID-19. Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults in the AAPA survey, 38% reported symptoms of depression or anxiety.

But according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, Asian Americans are 60% less likely and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders three times less likely to receive mental health services than their white peers. When they do seek help, according to the AAPA, they face challenges: 62% of Asian Americans and 41% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders diagnosed with mental health conditions said they needed assistance accessing care.

Read more at Heart.org.

September 15 marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. This celebration was first established as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under former President Lyndon B. Johnson and was extended to a full month in 1988 by former President Ronald Regan. Unlike many other monthly observed celebrations, Hispanic Heritage Month starts on the 15th of September and ends on the 15th of October.

In addition to celebrating important moments in the Hispanic and the Latinx community, this observance also helps open the conversation about various experiences that this demographic faces. Mental health is one of the areas that require more attention. Data from behavioral psychologists estimate that around 34% of Hispanic/Latinx adults with mental illness receive treatment each year. A recent study done by SAMHSA found that individuals who identified as Hispanic/Latinx saw a sharp increase of depression and suicidal ideation between the age range of 18 and 25. Contrastingly individuals 50 years and older saw a significant decline in the same areas.

Even when many Hispanic and Latinx citizens settle into American society, they often face a new set of difficulties. The language barrier is one of the most blatant disconnects. In the Mental health arena, a common miscommunication occurs when Hispanic/Latinx clients express experiencing nervios, a form of depression. Health professionals who are not familiar with Hispanic languages, in some cases, misdiagnose clients with lesser conditions.

Read more at RiversofHopeCounseling.com.