February 7, 2013
Hello Pacific Heart readers! I’m looking forward to Valentine’s Day – which can be a celebration of relationship and relatedness, and not just romance. In honor of the human need for relatedness, here are two early Valentine’s Day presents. I hope they will help you become more related to Asian American mental health issues. Only out of relating to difficulty and suffering can we become truly whole. As a society will only be whole insofar as we can completely relate to the suffering amidst us.
The first broadcast is from KALW. There are three segments in the 36 minute show. The first is about an Asian American diagnosed with schizophrenia; the second covers Asian American women, depression and suicidality (Asian American women age 65-84 have the highest rates of suicide amongst women of all ethnicities; Asian American women age 15-24 have the second highest suicide rate, after Alaskan/Native American women); the third segment is about Cambodian American refugees and PTSD.
http://www.kalw.org/post/crosscurrents-december-20-2012
The second broadcast is from KPFA in Berkeley, and was produced by R.J. Lozada. His first segment is an interview with Joshua, a Filipino American who has suffered from depression, and refers to his suffering as a “mad gift”. The second segment is an interview with Michael Siv, who describes his experiences in making a documentary (Wounds We Carry) about the International Tribunals in Cambodia. I add a few brief comments after each segment – but these individuals speak for themselves.
I am humbled by the willingness of these individuals to speak to their suffering and explore the issues raised. Let’s make sure the dialogue, sensitivity and inclusion – continue.
© 2012 Ravi Chandra, M.D. All rights reserved. Please sign up for my occasional e-newsletter at www.RaviChandraMD.com. Also find out about a new group, Sangha Francisco, I’m starting up soon (www.facebook.com/sanghafrancisco). Please subscribe to this blog via RSS, or follow me on Twitterhttps://www.twitter.com/going2peace. And I really appreciate your shares on Facebook, etc.