Notes

growing up in an Asian Chinese household, I am required to obey all the rules and regulations given by my parents. In the Chinese culture, the younger generation are culturally needed to take care of the older generation. If we do not obey our parents, we will be disciplined using a cane or a ruler. This is a rather common way for Asian parents to punish their kids when compared to the western world. When I was in elementary school, my mother used to tell me that I should not consume cold beverage with a meal because it will cause improper digestion. She would serve hot green tea to me whenever I drink cold water with a meal. When I catch a cold, she would boil chicken soup with a mixture of several types of vegetables in a huge pot. She believes that the hot soup is packed with nutrients to strengthen the immune system. As I grew older, I began to take into consideration my mother’s suggestion. I took an interest in learning how does the traditional Chinese technique works.
The traditional Chinese medicine method focuses more on the life energy. According to the belief of Taoism, there is a mysterious force that connect the universe and equalizes the yin and yang. The yin represents cold and dark while the yang represents light and warmth. Both energy is essential in life to attain harmony with nature and self-development. If there is an imbalance in both energy, bad things will happen to your body. The Eastern world tends to see an illness as an imbalance in the body energy. On the other hand, the Western approach focuses more on external factor such as germs and virus. The Western world tends to cure diseases using drugs. As such, there is a clear difference in health beliefs between the Eastern world and the Western world.
The traditional Chinese remedies comes in the form of herbs and powders. Acupuncture is a technique used to stimulate the energy flow in the body. It can be used to cure medical conditions such as backaches, digestive problems and depression. Besides that, cupping method is used to alleviate respiratory illnesses and musculoskeletal discomfort. Sometimes, my father would go to the nearby neighborhood for Tai chi sessions with a group of people. He tells me that it is essential to regulate the flow of Qi in the body. Tai chi requires being attentive doing slow motion exercise along with deep breathes. My father once encouraged me to join him for a Tai Chi session and I followed. I like how the form of Tai chi put an emphasis on warm-ups and meditating movements. This method helps in relaxing the mind after a long day of school.
I know mental health is a taboo subject within the Chinese culture. Most of the Chinese Asian families thinks that mental health problem should not be discussed in order to save face. If a family member has some kind of mental illness, it would be hard for that person to get married. The Chinese culture believe that mental illness is caused by an evil spirit that disrupt the cycle in life. However, I think that it is rather sad that the Chinese culture avoids the topic of mental health. This is because the people with mental distress needs attention and care. The consequences of disregarding mental health problems would lead to poor quality of life and even suicidal thoughts.
I chose mental health within the Chinese culture as my topic because mental health matters. I have a friend who suffers from depression and insomnia. She was a quiet and reserved person in school. She was the ideal student that all parents would want. However, she started to skip classes during the end of the year. Soon after, she stopped coming to school. I would see her posting pictures on social media about her fun night at some bars. I tried asking her to attend school again but she refuses to do so. The day that she finally came to school, I saw small cuts on her left hand. That was when I confronted her about what incident that causes her to cut herself. She said that she was feeling scared and lonely. She went out at night to grab a beer without her parent’s permission. She even took western pills thinking that it would heal her but her symptoms got worse. I gave suggestion to her to try using Chinese treatments instead. So, she went for a few acupuncture sessions and consume Chinese herbal supplements. I could see that she gave off a vibrant vibe after each session. She mentioned that her mood got better and it changed her life. When I asked about her problems, she says that it is mainly caused by parental pressure on academics. She also feels stressed living in an Asian household because she would be compared to other high achieving relatives in the family.
Personally, I do feel the same as her. During my high school years, I went through the puberty phase and wanted my own privacy. My parents would force me to attend many tuitions in order for me to get high grades in examinations. I was always exhausted by the end of the week. On the other hand, my parents would treat my brother more lenient because of the cultural expectation and responsibilities being an Asian woman. I am automatically thought to act like the perfect daughter in the family. I do not have the freedom to hang out with friends at night as supposed to my brother.
When I was sixteen years old, I thought of running away from home because I feel like I am living in jail. I feel so pressured fitting into the ideal society and it led me feeling miserable all time. I did not want to tell my parents about my depressing situation because I would be considered disrespecting their way of teaching. I did not want to be a disappointment in my family. However, my mother realized how I was isolating myself and changing in behavior. She tried to talk with me for hours discussing about my problems. I felt so much better after talking it out with my mother. She also mentioned that my Qi is imbalance and I need to balance it.
The Chinese culture perceives mental illness as a bad disease that will affect their entire ancestry even if it involves only one individual. The culture that I live is so focused on academics that I considered academics are more important than my mental problems. I have put such a high expectation on myself due to the culture that I was born in. I find it difficult expressing my feeling and thoughts to other people. I would always keep feelings to myself because it is easier to do so. It is hard explaining my situation to people due to the cultural stigma. I believe the culture that I live in shapes how I behave and act daily. The Chinese Asian culture focuses so much on having a bunch of achievements in life but it excludes the overall mental health of a person. I believe that there is so much more than getting high reputation and successful job. Although these accomplishments are the ideal way for a high standard of living, it does not include the level of happiness of a person. Hence, mental health should be an important issue that my culture needs to act on. It would be great if the Asian Chinese culture starts to recognize mental health as a norm rather than a weakness. I believe the relationships between family members would be even stronger if the community acknowledges mental illness as a disease that needs to be treated.