The Leading Cause Of Death For Young Asians Is...

a new 2024 study has revealed that suicide is the number one leading cause of death for aapi Youth and Young adults and this is a tough topic to talk about but we got to discuss yeah we got to talk about it the headline reads Asian-American young adults are the only racial group with suicide as their leading leading cause of death so why is nobody talking about this there's a ton of articles about this um unfortunately anderw suicide rates are actually Rising for a lot of groups however for asian-americans it's the only it it's the top reason for death between 5 and 24 right and uh we're going to be talking about it because I think that obviously we know that in the Asian-American space uh and especially amongst families particularly mental health is not really talked about so obviously we I don't know what we can solve but hopefully this discussion helps because we do have a list of things that I think you should think about when it comes to Asian-American mental health this is a list that we came up with after doing some research and obviously based on our own experiences right so please make sure you like this video and share this because this is a topic that is considered Taboo in Asia and I think that that's what transfers over to Asian America right and and not only is it taboo amongst asian-americans I mean a lot of people on YouTube bleep out the word that we're saying like we're we're just saying the word and a lot of people are you know bleeping it out so anyways it is kind of taboo even on certain platforms right it seems like right now the overall culprit that a lot of people are identifying right now is social media and this is not necessarily for the Asian specific but I'm saying for the rise in all suicide numbers yes especially amongst the youth right um and yeah I mean you can see there's this other stat that says Asian-American males in grades 9 through 12 were 30% more likely to consider attempting uh as compared to its white male student counterparts you know so Asian-American males and Asian-American females have thought about it a lot um I think the rate of people thinking about it and considering it is obviously much even higher than the people who actually go on and carry out the act so yeah I mean it's definitely something that a lot of Asians have gone through at least the thought of it right uh here is a breakdown for typically what is uh causing it for Asians because I found two different studies one is very uh generalist for the whole population of America but the one that is Asian specific from a test says cognitive impairment family expectations that's huge for Asians economic hardships social gender ethnicity socioeconomic status lack of insurance cultural beliefs about help-seeking behaviors distressing mental health conditions such as depression schizophrenia and ultimately Andrew they came to the conclusion that it is a intersectionality of factors leading to suicidal ideation and behavior so basically it's a combo wow okay and of course other people have been blaming Tik Tok um I read this other article that is blaming white supremacy now I disagree with the the the SEC the the the author of this article that says it's blaming it completely on white supremacy but I do think that in a white dominated Society even if Asians have suicide as an issue within the community it's not like uh any big grants are going to be given from the government to like research that yeah because because we're such a small minority group our concerns may go overlooked well and guys I'm you know not to say that it is not an issue I do think that mental health needs more funding but I'll tell you this a lot of people are asking why Young American men across the board of all Races are doing it at a high rate I mean Professor Scott Galloway who we've covered on this channel is famous for kind of pushing this through right now as I'm going to play in this clip when we say young men are themselves at three times the rate as young women we use terms like accountability or say things well if they just opened up more about their emotions or they need to get their act together and that is we've decided when it comes to men compassion is a zero sum game and that if you feel bad for men it immediately kind of outs you as someone who might be anti-women or who's gone red pill but yeah I think we just got to talk about Asian specific issues like it says I think America's got a lot of problems right now more problems than it had a decade ago but I do think that people write it off when Asians commit suicide because they think that they're just like oh yeah those are just overachievers and maybe they just put so much pressure on themselves when their life's not going perfect with the grades or the academic career accomplishments then they can't handle it I think that that's how other people would perceive it yeah I mean I think that when it comes to something that you did to yourself obviously some people feel like uh it's doesn't need to be as studied as much because it's something that you did to yourself versus like you doing to hurting other people right right right right I think it's a the main things that I want to identify before I get in the list is probably having nobody to talk about it it's just uh a feeling of otherness in mainstream American Society obviously depending on where you grow up feeling like you have no social value um maybe just Asian culture in general specifically East Asian culture does seem like it leans into sadness a little bit that's that's like an overlooked thing people don't want to talk about and maybe just general repression of your feelings yeah so anyway shame I mean dude family shame is a big part of it you know so I guess uh let's get into the list of things that you should keep in mind or things that you might want to keep in mind when thinking about American mental health hopefully this video has been helpful so far just even talking about it so far but if you you know know someone or you're a young parent or you know someone having issues or you have issues you know maybe this conversation helps yeah just trying to talk about it in a normal way because it's a real thing so it doesn't do any good to pretend like it's this like Boogeyman that you can't mention Point number one uh it may be the number one cause of death amongst 15 to 24 Andrew amongst asian-americans but it also actually has to do with how low the Asian-American rates of death due to accident vehicular homicide and regular violent homicide are right so I think the ranking of it number one uh leading cause of death I yeah I do think it's important but it's not as important because the other people like for example White young males they it ranks number two as the number one number two leading cause of death and for black young males it's number three so it's ranking high for all males and all people honestly right right just in a way I'm not saying it because it definitely needs to get addressed but it has to do with almost like how low the overdose deaths are in the AP or the homicide and accident deaths are uh in other groups that is much higher than asian-americans so anyways number two uh you have to remember that it does have a lot to do with how we don't address mental health in the Asian family or in the Asian Community or Asian culture and I mean this is nothing new but obviously it is kind of hard to talk to your parents about this kind of thing I would say honestly if you're an Asian kid having troubles at this point in time unless you know your parents will for sure understand but even if they if they don't they might not even be the best person to bring this up to right away right right yeah I mean the truth is and this is something that I didn't really see mentioned in the Articles because it may be taboo to mention but the suicide rates in East Asia are actually pretty high specifically in Korea and Japan and uh there's a saying in Korea you can't change a person it's easier to change out that person out of your life so it's it's it's like it's a very competitive Society over there everybody wants to be the best at everything and that has led to some really great outcomes and great products but it really doesn't bode well for like if you're having mental issues feeling inadequate right right and I guess David some people find it pretty interesting that since the suicide rates in Asia are so high and yes Asian Americans being raised by Asians from Asia but that it still carries over kind of in America into a different context right right right and we're going to explain that in point number three uh asian-americans are a very small minority in the US so although growing yeah although growing so you could grow up essentially around no other Asians and they may lack the knowledge basis of mental health within the community and they may not feel necessarily comfortable pinging with other communities to go seek out that help that has that knowledge basis around them so let's say for example you're growing up uh it's a small collection of asan in your town maybe you guys all go to church together that mental health knowledge does not exist within that micro Fishbowl and then you may not find those intersectional pings with people outside that have the knowledge or they might not relate to you too right and I think that definitely there are more Asian resources amongst a larger Asian Community right like more mental health talk when the community is so big perhaps but if the community is small then it's like if there's only a hundred of you what are the chances that you guys are talking about it right but this brings us to point number four even within an enclave Community people may not check up on each other in a western style you see what Andre what you're referring to is like maybe in Irvine California where it's like a lot of Asians that want to eat Asian food but I guess address mental health like Western people right that they they might be able to get help but in a Ultra traditional Enclave it might replicate Asia where nobody talks about mental health as well yeah so I I think there's unfortunately Asian-American are in this situation where the thing the Dynamics from Asia are still carrying over and then also you add in the dynamic of being a minority in America and maybe that's why the suicide rates seem still pretty high right Point number five uh this is a more controversial point but I'll just keep it real I do think that Asian culture specifically East Asian cultures whether it's Confucianism or I don't know what it is you can even look at the paintings from thousands of years ago uh there is like a um like a sadness to it or like like a lot of the B ballads are sad like people just I don't know it's just a lot of Asians like sad EDM I don't know there's a I have to just say that the as East Asian culture specifically is like sad yeah I think it's very Serene I think it's a lot of like balance of calming it's not necessarily Jolly is not the word I would use to describe even you know there's not that many paintings of like laughing groups and parties it's a lot of like staring out to the to the river that's still and just like contemplating so it is it is very he it's very heady and like internal and not only that and I'm by the way I'm not like overrating that or overstating that I'm just making a point here but also that could make it so it's like if somebody's more quiet or reserved or withheld or needs help people are just like oh that's just how you're normally supposed to be so it covers it up too so no cuz people like I think if like you come from a very gregarious culture and you're very quiet people might ask you what's wrong but if you're Asian it's like already introverted already right right yeah like hey man how come you're not laughing H come on and then uh you know that whole conversation would start I mean there's this thing called hidden ideation I don't know this is a term coming from this world that I just learned about but it's referring to the phenomenon where a aapi individuals may not show visible warning signs before a suicide attempt and so therefore they don't really have they don't really make a uh Cry for Help as much they just go ahead and do it and you're like whoa this came out of nowhere right this that's why they say right here there's a critical need for culturally tailored early detection and preventative strategies right but but I will say this it's like we got to get better at just asking people something that's very uncomfortable for people following traditional cultural values yeah yeah and sometimes it is communicating cuz sometimes how else do you know if the person's having issues unless you just ask them right you know and you're able like again listen I said this like I think and I'm going to get to it I think there's a lot of resources nowadays and I think that if you feel kind of disconnected from your parents you're saying this stuff to your parents may not even be the first thing you want to do if you're having these thoughts you know there's a lot of resources online and a lot of community online for that too for sure for sure Point number six I think that a lot of times like Asians we also got to take a look at our Androgen levels which are like our body chemicals I think that that is a new field of research that has to have more importance placed on it a lot more supplements B12 you know vitamin D things like that we have to take a look at our sleep patterns and we got to just take a look at the physical side of it you know what I mean because some kids I don't know I I don't know the stats but like if you're just staying up late you're gaming a lot you're watching a lot of shows late at night I would imagine that if you already have let's just say either a predisposition or you're in that a bad brain space that's just going to exacerbated right versus like getting exercise and getting a lot of sun and and just getting off the digital world yeah some of those old school things you know it sounds old school oh get some sun and get some sleep it's like actually I guess the science shows that those things are pretty important right right right but you could even get more granular oxygen intake things like that like using more scientific breakdowns of the old world wisdom Point number seven I think that traveling to other countries is really important too like like we're saying like sometimes s they were saying that one of the main reasons obviously there's a ton of reasons that all come together in a mish mash but is the uh acculturation or the clunky assimilation process leads to a lot of depression amongst asian-americans yeah and again that that's multiple factors it's tough because in Asia they still are going through this similar issue but maybe for different reasons right because everybody is Asian out there now I guess you could still feel othered in Asia because not all not all otherness is related to being a racial minority either you know what I mean so those kids are clearly feeling some type of pressure but um the fact is that there's the Asian Reasons from Asia that kids are doing this and then there's also this minority American reasons which is feeling like oh I'm out of place or like people don't care about me in this place and like I look different or I'm getting made fun of or I'm being bullied uh over the Internet or I'm being bullied in real life right or people just know me for being like this academic Workhorse and I have no other value and I think traveling it could be traveling to Asia or just traveling out and like leaving your environment is really important um and seeing different things for your mental health yeah yeah for sure for sure you just got to break the cycle of uh whatever is like a break from the cycle break from your daily life Point number eight I think it's it's you got to unlearn unhealthy coaching from your parents yeah and uh obviously dude it doesn't mean resent your parents because they brought you uh your a second generation immigrant like us that your parents made a lot of sacrifices to bring you to America but at the same time it doesn't mean that their word is Gospel you know what I mean you can learn the work ethic and the Sacrifice from them but in terms of mental health that is an area where I would seek out other accredited people or people with like a really good reputation in Media or YouTube or in person yeah no I mean listen I know it sounds crazy but like on redit there was actually a lot of Asians who discussed this and their mental health issues and their struggles and there's a good support system on the subreddits if you're Asian also there's a lot more therapists of Asian descent in America now so you know you're not short of the resources it's about whether you go and get them and I'm not saying all the resources are 100% great that they're going to work perfectly that you're just going to talk to a therapist for one hour and then you're going to flip the switch and be like Oh I'm fine now it's not going to work that easy but that you got to reach out and get it and there are a lot of healthy spaces online and I'm saying to go back online in the healthy spaces online not like not your gamer world or your necessarily your Discord you got to leave that and you got to go talk to strangers who have been through the same thing uh I got a Asian therapist or when I did go to therapy I found an Asian therapist and I have a good black friend uh in LA and he told me that he was going to a number of like you know white female therapists and he had a really traumatic upbringing and until he got a black therapist that uh they weren't able to really like fully understand where he was coming from when he was like talking about his issues yeah no listen the messenger matters uh Point number nine um I think I see if if you are a parent and you see it in your kid you got to take more personal responsibility than just taking them to the local Mental Health Center um I think that could work especially if it's a a very high ranked uh Mental Health Center that has uh culturally relevant like deploying those tactics that are like make sense to people's like subcultures but it's like you might want to like just spend more time with your kid it's not just about investing money and putting your kids in like programs and stuff or or if you're with them but you're on their phone are you really there you know what I mean I think it's about like having a hardcore real relationship with your kids so if the kid is saying something you could actually understand where they're coming from rather than just be like what's wrong what's wrong I don't know what's going on but it's like if you spend enough time with your kid you would have an idea of what's wrong right you know and I think that obviously communicating with your child and then obviously communicating with other adults it is different so yeah it's a tough thing for uh parents you know I can't say I'm a parent yet and going through this yet but uh I would say that you know how do you communicate with your child and make sure that they know that they're valued do you do you know how your kid is spending their time I mean like are they just up late at night consuming games and different watching you don't even know what they're watching and it's like spirituality matters too because obviously if you take a look at uh people's religion typically they're they're born into it like if you look at the statistics and uh number 10 I think you can arrive at the same reason from a completely different life and and that's to your point about uh Asians in Asia having high suicide rates sometimes and then asian-americans it being the number one uh cause of death and I think that somebody was saying in the comment section they were like I don't think kids nowadays are required to do anything or accomplish anything that's why their life is so aimless right so they feel like they have nothing to live for they have nothing to strive for but I feel like for Asian kids at least from particular families it almost feels like they've got so much on their plate and so much pressure and so much accolades and accomplishments to achieve they still feel like what am I even doing this for yeah you know what I mean so it's you're arriving at the same point of like detachedness but one has too much on their plate and one has too little on their plate yeah man it's tough that's why this conversation is so tough because you could feel inadequate you could feel othered in so many reasons you could feel unloved and just you could feel like you're uh you're helpless for so many reasons right and that's why obviously you know we make this video I can't tell you and help people personally but you know I just want people to know like actually I was surprised at how many posts online we discussing this as Asian people so I would honestly say if you really have no Community around you and you're looking for someone that shares those same struggles like you could just Google search and there's a bunch of Reddit posts about it yeah I mean I'll just say it I mean I've been to therapy and I had an Asian therapist and it help was helpful and like uh you know like that I think even just saying that there was a time I wouldn't even have felt comfortable sharing that online to be honest you know what I mean to anybody like but now I'm just like looking at everything and I'm seeing all these studies and you you you everybody knows somebody who knows somebody that something uh terrible happened to and you want to avoid those as much as possible so uh yeah I think we just got to normalize the discussion about it and ultimately every you know it's on you to kind of if you take in this information or you we made somehow you made uh made you feel more comfortable with this discussion for you to bring it into your own fishbowls of Life yeah so uh yeah I mean again just talk about it you know I mean a quick Google search of Asian-American mental health you'll get a whole bunch of posts people talking about it there's uh a lot of other resources out there we'll leave links down below but uh you let us know in the comments down below uh if this video was helpful for anybody and um yeah you know just talk about it in a healthy way that's the best thing you can do right now um because there's a whole bunch of other factors and and again this whole situation is actually affecting all other Americans not just asian-americans I don't want to say asian-americans are the only ones going through it it's actually a lot of people are going through it right right right and in in Asia too for different reasons so anyway guys let us know what you guys think in the comments section below share this with somebody who needs to hear it share it with a parent share it with a younger person whatever it is just normalize the discussion uh you're not crazy for just talking about it regardless of whatever you know the old culture says until next time with the hop hop Bo we out peace peace