Viewing Anxiety Through the Lens of Asian Culture

1/27/2021

Content Director: Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
Authors: Diya Menon and Sakina BharmaL

Myths and misconceptions have plagued the minds of people for as long as mental health issues have. For this reason, issues related to mental health remain deeply stigmatised and highly misunderstood even today. And despite the recent emphasis, however, mental health and mental health care has not become a high priority in most Asian countries. In fact, over 450 million persons are reported to suffer from mental or neurological disorders in the continent.

In Asia, where many cultures value “conformity to norms, emotional self-control, and family recognition through achievement”, mental illnesses are often stigmatized and seen as a source of shame. This in addition to religious stigma, discrimination, ignorance, fear and psychological prejudice, gendered norms, and negative societal perceptions of mental illness has hindered help-seeking behaviour and subsequent recovery.

Beliefs about mental health and wellbeing vary across the wide range of cultures classed as Asian. There are however, a number of common elements across Asian cultures; these include: imbalances in the body which consequently result in negative behavioural states, religious and spiritual beliefs, traditional therapies etc. For many Asian people, shame, stigma and discrimination are key aspects of their experience of mental illness.

Anxiety is one such mental health issue which affects millions of men, women and adolescents, but sadly continues to remain largely unaddressed due to its trivialisation, and the stigma it carries like many other mental health problems.

UNDERSTANDING ANXIETY

Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress, alerting you of potential danger. Ordinary anxiety is a feeling that comes and goes but does not interfere with your everyday life. Occasional anxiety is okay, and in some situations beneficial too, as it pushes you to work harder and perform better. But when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might become a medical disorder.

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental illnesses that cause constant and overwhelming anxiety and fear. They are the most common form of emotional disorder and can affect anyone at any age. These disorders alter how a person processes emotions and behaves.

Feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger, and can last a long time. They can cause the person to try to avoid situations that trigger those feelings or worsen their symptoms, causing them to stop doing things they enjoy or exploring any other activities as well.

Mild anxiety might be vague and unsettling, while severe anxiety may seriously affect day-to-day living. The feeling of fear may be with you all the time and is intense and sometimes debilitating. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes.

Anxiety also causes physical symptoms. These symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood. Symptoms of general anxiety include:

Increased heart rate
Rapid breathing
Sweating
Trembling
Restlessness and a feeling of being “on-edge”
Increased irritability
Feeling nervous or tense
Uncontrollable feelings of worry
Feeling a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom
Feeling weak or tired
Difficulty concentrating
Trouble falling or staying asleep
Experiencing gastrointestinal problems, etc.

There are several types of anxiety disorders. The most common ones are:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: excessive, unrealistic worry and tension with little or no reason.
Panic disorder: experiencing sudden, intense fear that brings on a panic attack at unexpected times.
Specific phobias: intense and excessive fear of a specific object, activity, or situation.
Social Anxiety Disorder: extreme fear of being judged by others in social situations.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: recurring irrational thoughts leading to specific, repeated behaviors.
Separation Anxiety Disorder: fear of being away from home or loved ones.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: severe anxiety following a traumatic event.
Selective mutism: a type of social anxiety in which young kids who talk normally with their family don’t speak in public.
Medication-induced Anxiety Disorder. Use of certain medications or illegal drugs, or withdrawal from certain drugs, can trigger some symptoms of anxiety disorder.

Just like every other mental health illness, the lack of knowledge about the issue and willingness to accept it as a real mental health problem has led people to believe all sorts of things as “facts” and “truths”, while in reality, these are just myths and misconceptions.

THE UNDIGNIFYING WORLD OF MYTHS

As serious and impeding mental health-related issues are, Asians seem to be quite a marvel when it comes to viewing and tackling them. It might be quite surprising, so to say, for an amateur to venture into a common Asian household and behold the myths and superstitions that surround the delicate topic of anxiety.

One might wonder what exactly it could be about anxiety (or any underlying mental health issue for that matter) that would make it seem less alarming than it is. It may come across as a shock, but familial relationships, societal and traditional ties, prevailing finance, and responsibilities come forth as crucial factors that determine if a person is even allowed to be mentally unwell.

The practical world of today sees less of it, but it is an undeniable truth that some of these misconceptions - often translated as age-old myths - still exist in the deepest folds of the unspoken mind.

Myth 1: You fail morally, you fail mentally.
If you are religious, carry out moral duties, and keep up traditional integrity, you should be mentally peaceful too. If not, there would be one of the criteria that you simply aren’t meeting.
Religious values are remarkably strong in most of Asia and the precious values are imbibed in most practising households. However, the varied perception of religious values when related to mental health issues is where the confusion occurs. Blurring the lines between religious perception and practical reality, an individual’s morality is questioned when it comes to anxiety.
With much open to the eye, it only takes ample education and a little common sense to see that the two are independent and don’t have anything to do with each other in most ostensible ways.

Myth 2: Materialistic Opulence = Great Mental Health
Anxiety is also commonly viewed as a blemish that is offensive to society and personal status. The bludgeoning societal pressure and famed stereotype of displaying a spotless and unproblematic personal life, especially to carry out a good reputation, often forces oneself to keep their anxiety under covers.
With extra importance given to maintaining an ideal community-level image that boasts good education, career, and family, it only takes two open eyes and an equally open mind to understand and accept the seemingly quiet mental issue and seek help for material successes are not a cure to a medical problem.

Myth 3: It’s not an issue unless it’s physical or life-threatening.
This is perhaps the most superficial and vocal myth/excuse of them all. Unless you have a protruding tumor, badly deteriorating organ, or any other immediate life-threatening situation, then you really aren’t in that bad of a problem. Interestingly, the only time mental health is put into the limelight is when the person undergoes an extremely traumatic event like witnessing death or being a victim of immoral acts.
It is more of finance that comes into play, and the age-old mindset that trivial matters (sadly, such as anxiety) don’t deserve spending money on. Rather, one is blamed if they are to seek professional help for what others think are simple issues of life.

Myth 4: Take it easy, life is not just a path of flowers. Bear with it!
Often more than not, a person struggling with anxiety is told to take life in its stride and is given a rather long (and unwanted) lesson on how one must learn to adapt to all situations to become an ideal person in society. Tending to their problems should be done in secrecy and privacy, so as to not ‘apparently’ burden someone else with your heavy emotions.
It is sad that the peril anxiety brings to a victim’s life is often given a blind eye. Anxiety is neglected as a real and impactful medical issue, but is rather perceived as a choice a person willingly makes to attract sympathy or so-called attention. It is taken as something ‘in the head’, and the stigma surrounding anxiety labels it as a ‘term’ to deal with problems the easy way.
A lot of Asians, as studied through research and survey, tend to internalize their problematic emotions to either appear stronger or reduce pressure on near and dear ones. Though it is visually seen as them closing off on others, becoming more reserved or irritable, it is high time people rule out the ‘you-are-being-rude’ phase and start thinking about the ‘maybe-I-need-help’ phase.

Myth 5: Anxious? Stop being weak. Talk it out with your family.
Most major changes in an Asian’s life heavily involve the participation or causation of the family. Subsequently, being anxious is widely perceived as a lack of familial communication and a fragile mind. Due to this, most people that suffer from anxiety are told off from getting professional/medical help and instead are asked to talk it out with the family.
Especially in highly custom-oriented places like India and South-East Asia, anxiety is equated to a failure of upbringing and shame for the family, thus best kept concealed from public knowledge.

CONCLUSION

The stigma surrounding anxiety is heavy, but the implications that prolonged anxiety brings on are heavier. It is therefore imperative that we change our attitude and perceptions about not just anxiety but other mental health issues too. We must begin by letting go of any preconceived notions we may have about mental health problems and make a conscious and continued effort to educate ourselves and others about the nature of different, common mental health problems. We should also try and look out for the people around us and make it okay to not be okay. Lastly, let’s promise to be kinder to ourselves and to everyone, because we all have our battles, big or small. On this note, it is only plausible that the high time to smash the stigma and take the right actions is now.

DISCLAIMER

This piece is not the work of licensed professionals. However, the content is research-based and factual to the best of the writers’ knowledge.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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