The pandemic has taken a toll on our collective mental health. But according to a recent Statistics Canada report, South Asians reported a steeper decline than any other diaspora in Canada. Why? The idea of being a model minority – of having to live up to exacting high standards – is a big part of it. Two long-time researchers and activists join Vinita for an intimate conversation about that and other reasons why South Asians are struggling so badly, and what can be done about it. Maneet Chahal is co-founder of SOCH, one of the few mental health organizations specifically for South Asians. Satwinder Bains is the director of the South Asian Studies Institute and professor of social cultural media studies at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Show notes:
https://theconversation.com/model-minority-blues-the-mental-health-consequences-of-being-a-model-citizen-dont-call-me-resilient-ep-9-166620
Related articles:
How mental health issues get stigmatized in South Asian communities: Culturally diverse therapy needed:
https://theconversation.com/how-mental-health-issues-get-stigmatized-in-south-asian-communities-culturally-diverse-therapy-needed-164913
We still stigmatize mental illness, and that needs to stop:
https://theconversation.com/we-still-stigmatize-mental-illness-and-that-needs-to-stop-169518
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Promo at beginning of episode:
Telling Our Twisted Histories, CBC Podcasts:
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/906-telling-our-twisted-histories