Asian-Americans confront mental health crisis amid rise in racist attacks
- Asian-Americans have been the target of unprovoked attacks in the United States
- Expert says ‘we’re experiencing a collective trauma’ as violent atmosphere takes toll
Eric Yung and his aunt, Patricia Lee, have seen a lot from their vantage point at Union Square Flowers, the stand they run just off Market Street in San Francisco. But last month, when the two saw a man rush by with a large knife in his grip, they knew there was going to be trouble.
“You try not to think about it. You don’t want to be paranoid,” Yung said. He nodded toward his aunt. “Sometimes I do feel afraid – but more for my family.”
Asian-American community advocates say the mental health toll of such incidents, which have spiked during the pandemic, is rampant and devastating – especially for the community’s elderly, who were already suffering the effects of isolation after months of a nationwide shutdown.
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Surge in anti-Asian attacks in the US sparks discussions on mental health impacts
Now, a recently released report shows that, among other things, Asian-Americans were more stressed by the atmosphere of violence and hate than by the pandemic itself, despite disproportionately high rates of long-term unemployment and health effects brought on by the contagion. Last fall, Asian-Americans in San Francisco accounted for nearly 40 per cent of Covid-19 deaths despite comprising just 12 per cent of all positive cases.
According to the report, Asian-Americans who experienced racism during the pandemic display heightened symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress – and one in five show signs of racial trauma, the psychological and emotional harm caused by racism.
The report from San Francisco’s Stop AAPI Hate Centre compiled findings of three independent national studies, conducted between April 2020 and March 2021, gauging the mental health impacts of anti-Asian racism during that time.
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New Yorkers escort elderly and form street patrols to combat anti-Asian attacks
Stop AAPI Hate received more than 6,600 hate incident reports on its website between March 2020 and March 2021, a figure advocates note is likely an undercount. About two-thirds of the incidents involve verbal harassment, with physical violence accounting for another 12 per cent of the tally.