What do we call it when something feels wrong inside?
A U.S. study of Vietnamese Americans found that younger and older generations often use different words and beliefs to describe mental illness, making it harder to talk about across age groups.
A university student sits across from her grandmother during Tết in the living room, sharing a warm plate of bánh chưng. She wants to mention to her grandmother that she has been seeing a counselor since midterms because she has been feeling stressed and demotivated. However, she hesitates and talks about her classes next semester instead, and the moment passes.
Researchers held group discussions and individual interviews with 51 Vietnamese Americans in New Orleans across three generations, along with community leaders and health providers. They wanted to understand how people perceived stigma around mental illness, and how it varies across generations (Do et al., 2020).
What words did your family use when you were growing up, for sadness or stress that lasted longer than expected?
Many younger participants described mental illness as a health condition, something a doctor or a counselor could help with. Older participants more often described it as a passing phase, something caused by stress or family trouble, something a person should work through alone. The words people used to describe mental illness carried weight too. In Vietnamese, calling someone “điên,” or mad, was described as far heavier than joking in English about being “crazy” (Do et al., 2020).
Across the study, protecting the family’s reputation also came up in every generation, as a reason to stay quiet rather than seek help. Interestingly, young participants who recognized mental illness as something treatable were not necessarily more willing to talk about it openly. Many still worried about disappointing their parents or being gossiped about, especially in a close-knit community. One young participant described this feeling as being caught between two cultures, aware of the support available, but unsure of how to reach for it without risking family shame (Do et al., 2020).
These findings came from one community in one city in the U.S., and the study could not say how far these patterns hold true for other Vietnamese communities, whether elsewhere abroad or in Vietnam. The conflict it describes, between recognizing a feeling and being able to share it out loud, might sound familiar to many families navigating between generations and cultures.
When something feels hard to say to someone you love, what usually gets said instead?
Reference
Do, M., McCleary, J., Nguyen, D., & Winfrey, K. (2020). Mental illness public stigma and generational differences among Vietnamese Americans. Community Mental Health Journal, 56(5), 839–853.
