Suicides High Among Asian Immigrant Women

[>:^|]

full story at http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3b5ac82483a16d2e4e2eb 28b46655ab6

Hiding the Pain: Suicides High Among Asian Immigrant Women
News Feature, Pueng Vongs,
Pacific News Service, Dec 22, 2003

Editor's Note: Chinese American women have the highest suicide rates of all racial and ethnic groups nationwide. Public health professionals think they know why.

Friends still wonder where Ying Liu got the gun she used to kill her estranged husband, and then herself, last January in the home they once shared in a quiet San Jose neighborhood. The deaths of the two high-tech engineers from Beijing were widely reported in Chinese-language newspapers, rattling many in the Silicon Valley's insular Chinese immigrant community.

Chinese and other Asian women in the United States have an alarmingly high rate of suicide. A mental health crisis is brewing in the Asian American community, say psychiatrists and mental heath advocates, one that is largely unacknowledged due to cultural stigmas that prevent Asians from seeking help when they need it. Once they do, they face a dearth of bilingual and bicultural mental health practitioners.

Chinese American women have the highest suicide rate of all racial and ethnic groups nationwide, with 20 suicide deaths per 100,000 population, according to recent studies. Suicide occurs at a rate 2.5 to 3 times higher among Asian women in the United States than among Caucasian women.

[Danny]

Honestly, what could be done about it... it is part of the culture to be like that... I hate it to all ends, my mom is like that, if she has problems, does not say a damn thing, my grandfather was the same way as was my grandmother... it is the most difficult thing in the world to watch as people you love are basically breaking down in front of your eyes.

[SunWuKong]

Honestly, what could be done about it... it is part of the culture to be like that... I hate it to all ends, my mom is like that, if she has problems, does not say a damn thing, my grandfather was the same way as was my grandmother... it is the most difficult thing in the world to watch as people you love are basically breaking down in front of your eyes.

it's part of the culture, but doesn't mean people have to adhere to that.

[hooligan]

it's part of the culture, but doesn't mean people have to adhere to that.
yeah, but it's hard. my parents went through all kinds of shit too. my mom went through a severe depression phasae of her life where she'd cry a lot. mental health isn't a thing a lot of immigrant families discuss. for that matter, conversation on how we're doing isn't a subject a lot of chinese immigrant families talk about. i mean what can we do about that?

[SunWuKong]

yeah, but it's hard. my parents went through all kinds of shit too. my mom went through a severe depression phasae of her life where she'd cry a lot. mental health isn't a thing a lot of immigrant families discuss. for that matter, conversation on how we're doing isn't a subject a lot of chinese immigrant families talk about. i mean what can we do about that?

have to be patient and calm, and keep trying to talk to them. i think if you talk in a calm and collected manner, they will be more responsive. the way that i do it with my family and other relatives, i'd say it's even sort of passive-aggressive.

[hooligan]

have to be patient and calm, and keep trying to talk to them. i think if you talk in a calm and collected manner, they will be more responsive. the way that i do it with my family and other relatives, i'd say it's even sort of passive-aggressive.
haha, eventually my mom found that it helped talkinga bout things, but my dad's still very stoic in terms of how he feels. i think that the majority of chinese people that i know are very passive-aggressive. i have to talk to my dad in a very calm way or he'll just go nuts or stop talking to me. the passive aggressiveness has wore off on me a little too.

[Danny]

it's part of the culture, but doesn't mean people have to adhere to that.

I totally agree, but it is incredibly difficult to break the hold people have on cultural roots. In my experience, talking with people from Asia, they will say what you want to hear, then there is no action, when you confront them, they do not want to do anything becuase they are not ready, if you force them, then they think you are crazy.

Cultural history is incredibly fierce in people, especially ones from Asia that move to the US, but not first generation Asians born in the US.

[rice cracker]

Well, in the case of immigrant women I would guess that a large part of the problem, next to the taboo about speaking about feelings, would be the displacement and isolation they go through living in a new country.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Being a suicide intervention/crisis worker, I don't get many calls from people who are Asian or Asian American. Sometimes, just for stats, i would ask the caller at the hotline what race they are (just before the call ends), and I haven't received a call from an Asian person yet. On the other hand, in my personal life, 3 people I know (hk chinese am, indian am, and vietnamese immigrant to the US) have either committed or attempted suicide. Heck, I have attempted too almost 8 years ago. I've admitted it so much that I don't even care that I mention that anymore. =)

Regarding this article,while it is difficult and a very strong challenge to open the line of communication with someone who is so tied into not talking about her problems for fear of retribution/shame, it is this very reason people are locked into the cycle of domestic violence or abuse. Most people who volunteer at the crisis center where I was at are trained but there are definitely going to be problems since English is one of the only lines of communication. i say one of the only lines b/c we do have a spanish hotline too. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm going to contact the people who developed the Spanish Hotline and see what I could do about maintaining an Asian American hotline and possibly making it bilingual as well.... Having a service like this in St. Louis (since our Asian American community is growing) is something that has been on my mind for quite a long time.

[Sledge]

Being a suicide intervention/crisis worker, I don't get many calls from people who are Asian or Asian American.

That's a good point, but Asian immigrant women would probably be less likely to call - if only because of the communications barrier.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Probably, but at least they have an option than no option at all. I think the planning phase of a project like this would take a lot of time, available people, and of course money. Speaking of having had no calls from Asians ever at the teen hotline, a 13 y.o. Vietnamese American girl called tonight at the teen hotline because she felt like in the middle of a problem (she thought was part of her problem but couldn't really control) and wanted to do something about it. She felt like she was in the middle b/c her mom and her step sister don't get along and give each other silent treatments. They want the girl to pick sides but they basically tell her to shut up or put her down when the girl voices how stressful this has been on her. We established a plan that was workable for the caller, she was very much relieved to have someone at least acknowledge and ACTIVELY listen to her (nonjudgmentally). I feel happy i could help out an asian sista!!!! =)
That's a good point, but Asian immigrant women would probably be less likely to call - if only because of the communications barrier.

[Sledge]

That's great! It's especially good that she knew she had you guys to turn to; I can imagine many immigrants never having the remotest idea that there are such programs to help them. Anyway, good for you. I'm sure you gave her the support she needed, and the hope that something can be done about her situation.

[AngryABCGirl]

have to be patient and calm, and keep trying to talk to them. i think if you talk in a calm and collected manner, they will be more responsive. the way that i do it with my family and other relatives, i'd say it's even sort of passive-aggressive.

Have to do that with the men in my family. The women are out of control though, you have to yell them now, but we're totally nuts though, I feel bad for the men in our family. I use to think it was so out of control, the way they acted until I realized I did it a lot too because I pent up so much stuff. My mom talked to me once about how a lot of Chinese women learn to repress some emotions around certain people and well, that ends up not working... sometimes in the most extreme sense.

[hooligan]

Have to do that with the men in my family. The women are out of control though, you have to yell them now, but we're totally nuts though, I feel bad for the men in our family. I use to think it was so out of control, the way they acted until I realized I did it a lot too because I pent up so much stuff. My mom talked to me once about how a lot of Chinese women learn to repress some emotions around certain people and well, that ends up not working... sometimes in the most extreme sense.
yeah, i found out that i was passive aggressive when i'd go off and skate and release all this pent up rage and destroy a ton of shit. it was great, until i realized how self-defeating it was. it took a while to realize it was doing it though, at least i didn't hurt myself too severely growing up.

[nola]

Passive-aggressive anger is the worst because it is not taken care of until it's too late. Healthy release of anger especially for women is best. Alot of Asian American women don't call hotlines or use mental health services because mental health is stigmatized or not yet recognized in the culture. Like passive-aggressive anger versus outward anger, mental illness is not taken as seriously as physical illness and goes on unchecked until it's too late for everyone involved.

[SunWuKong]

Have to do that with the men in my family. The women are out of control though, you have to yell them now, but we're totally nuts though, I feel bad for the men in our family. I use to think it was so out of control, the way they acted until I realized I did it a lot too because I pent up so much stuff. My mom talked to me once about how a lot of Chinese women learn to repress some emotions around certain people and well, that ends up not working... sometimes in the most extreme sense.

that's why Chinese women get so psycho sometimes. :eek:

[SunWuKong]

yeah, i found out that i was passive aggressive when i'd go off and skate and release all this pent up rage and destroy a ton of shit. it was great, until i realized how self-defeating it was. it took a while to realize it was doing it though, at least i didn't hurt myself too severely growing up.

that's not passive aggressive. that's just repressive.

[Banana_Creme]

I've read recently that a lot of young Asian American students have been committing suicide. Unable to deal with parental pressures, generally unhappy with the career they were heading towards, or after receiving less than spectacular grades, several Asians have killed themselves. Here's a year old article from the Cornell sun:http://www.cornellsun.com/articles/6702/
Recently, at the college a couple miles from where I live, another Asian American student leapt from the top of one of the tallest buildings on campus and killed himself, which reminded me of this.

The general lack of communication, repression, and overly-strict order in many Asian family units can cause a lot of problems. A few of my friends' mothers were manic depressives, a couple were alcoholic, and many just seemed generally distant and unhappy. :frown:

[hooligan]

that's not passive aggressive. that's just repressive.
:D there's other stuff i used to do.

[nola]

Asian-American children and adolsescents are considered by mental health providers to be highly prone to depression.

Asian-American girls and women are the most depressed and suicidal of all races and genders in the US. Speak up and spread awareness because this is a serious problem.

http://www.fcmsdocs.org/Conference/11th/The%20Prevalence%20of%20Mental%20Health%20Problems %20Among.pdf

http://nawho.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/9950/conman/Mental+Health+Fact+Sheet.pdf