A look into Asian American mental health, two years after the pandemic

Angela Luo, a sophomore majoring in architecture at The Cooper Union in New York, was only 17 years old when the pandemic started. Until then, her biggest worries were college admissions and prom dates. However, with the rise of anti-Asian hate, now she thinks twice before leaving her own home. She has stopped taking subways or walking in crowded areas and is currently on a leave of absence from school.

“I just felt paranoid all the time,” Luo said. “It is draining to feel like I’m constantly watched or scared of what might happen. I don’t even speak Chinese outside of my house anymore.”

While on her gap semester, Luo said her mental health hit an all-time low. And she’s not alone. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism in 2021, there was a 339% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes nationwide in just a year, with cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco reaching record highs.

Much of the anti-Asian hate amid the pandemic was fueled by former President Donald Trump’s harmful rhetoric at the time, referring to the pandemic as the “Chinese Virus” and the “Kung Flu,” according to a 2021 study by the Anti-Defamation League. Simultaneously, the narratives of the Asian American community are consistently overshadowed by the ‘model minority myth,’ pinning them as “perpetual foreigners” against other minority groups.

As a result of the spike, 30% to 40% of Asian American adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic, up from 10% in 2019, according to a census bureau survey.

Luo never sought treatment; she didn’t know where to start. With immigrant parents who didn’t quite believe in mental illnesses and her lack of knowledge about the resources, she stayed put—bearing it all in silence.

Again, Luo is not alone. Despite a tripling of anti-Asian hate crimes nationwide in the wake of COVID-19, Asian Americans are 50% less likely to seek mental health treatment than other ethnic groups, according to a 2021 study by UCLA Health.

“[Asian Americans] expressed feelings of being targeted, not feeling safe and of course anger, frustration and sadness,” said Ashley Uyeshiro, an associate professor of clinical occupational therapy at USC.

Beyond unemployment rates and financial burdens, the pains of the pandemic are still felt across the country. For Juhyung Yang, a junior at UCLA studying business administration, there was something bigger.

“All I know is that everyday, I open my phone to another statistic, another story about an Asian person who lost their life,” Yang said. “I’m not okay, but I don’t even remember what being okay felt like.”

Yang suffered from high levels of anxiety. He missed assignments. He failed exams. He stopped attending class and his grades fell from mostly A’s to C’s. Yang didn’t know how to help himself, nor did he want to, he said.

“Some days it feels suffocating; some days I just feel numb,” Yang said. “I hate the fact that I had to get used to something like that.”

Information on nationwide mental health resources can be found here. USC also specifically offers counseling and mental health services for students. More information on those services can be found here. 

Additionally, resources for Asian American support can be found here.