Breaking the Silence: Why Talking About Mental Health in Asian Cultures Shouldn’t Be Taboo

By: Lucy

Let’s be real, talking about feelings in many Asian households is about as welcome as wearing shoes inside the house. From a young age, kids are taught to keep emotions in check, focus on achievements, and never, ever air personal struggles. Expressing vulnerability? That’s often met with a quick “just be strong” or “don’t burden others.” But here’s the thing, bottling up emotions doesn’t make them disappear. Instead, it turns them into ticking time bombs.

The Cost of Staying Quiet

Avoiding tough conversations doesn’t solve problems, it just buries them deeper. When we don’t talk about mental health, kids grow up without the tools to recognize, express, or manage emotions. That’s a recipe for disaster, leading to stress, anxiety, depression, suicide, and more.

Asians are way less likely to seek professional mental health support than their Western counterparts (Zhang et al., 2020). But that doesn’t mean they’re magically stress-proof, it just means they’re suffering in silence. Ignoring mental health has real, life-threatening consequences. In fact, Asia accounts for 61% of the world’s suicides, with a staggering 68–97% of those cases involving a diagnosable psychiatric disorder (Vijayakumar, 2009). This means that many of these tragic deaths could have been prevented with proper mental health care and support. The numbers don’t lie, mental health struggles are real, and stigma only makes them worse.

The Never-Ending Stigma Loop

So, why does this cycle keep repeating? A major reason is the deep-rooted belief that mental health struggles bring shame, not just to the individual, but to the entire family. In many Asian cultures, reputation is everything. What others think of you matters. Because of this, mental health issues aren’t just seen as a personal struggle; they’re seen as a stain on the family name. This leads to people distancing themselves from loved ones who are struggling, or worse, outright rejecting them. And here’s the kicker: even some healthcare professionals hold these same biases.

Asians often unfairly label mental disorders as dangerous or aggressive (Lauber & Rössler, 2007). On top of that, somatic (physical) complaints are more socially acceptable than psychological ones. Many still view mental disorders as a personal failure rather than a medical condition, making it even harder for people to seek help.

This stigma doesn’t just harm those facing mental health challenges, it teaches future generations to suppress their emotions too. When kids don’t see their parents talking about emotions, they grow up believing they shouldn’t either. And so, the domino effect continues.

Teaching emotions like we teach maths

So, how do we break this cycle? It starts with treating emotions like they’re normal, because they are! We need to teach our kids how to recognize, express, and process their feelings. When we validate emotions instead of brushing them aside, we set them up for healthier coping skills and prevent long-term mental health struggles.

Vulnerability shouldn’t be seen as shameful, it should be embraced. Families and communities need to create safe spaces for open conversations. Schools can incorporate emotional intelligence lessons. Social media can help normalize mental health discussions. Therapy and counseling shouldn’t be seen as a last resort, but as a proactive way to maintain well-being.

Change Starts With Us

The good news? Change is happening. Across Asia, more initiatives are tackling mental health stigma. Cultural shifts take time, but every conversation makes a difference. By sharing stories, normalizing mental health discussions, and supporting one another, we can start to break the cycle. Because talking about emotions isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength, self-awareness, and healing. And the more we talk, the closer we get to a world where seeking help is as normal as going to the doctor for a cold.

That’s the kind of world we should all want to live in. 

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