An Important Message For Asian (and non-Asian) Hustlers In The Time of COVID-19

Here is a group of Asians. Hustling, apparently.

I saw the following image scrolling through my FaceBook feed this morning:

Yikes.

This thoughtful, considerate, and totally non-judgmental message was posted in a FaceBook group called the Asian Hustle Network (which is a group of Asians who… well, hustle).

Look. I get it. I appreciate the hustle as much as the next person, but…

Have you looked around lately? Spinoff from this original comic by KC Green.

FULL. STOP.

This is an open letter to all of the Asians and Asian-Americans out there, and really ANYONE out there who is feeling overwhelmed, ashamed, or pressured by the High Achiever expectation, Model Minority stereotype, or Workaholic-Worshipping cultural conditioning to “take advantage of this opportunity” right now.

Hi. Therapist here.

One of my specialties is Asian and Asian-American mental health and healing intergenerational and ancestral trauma.

Many of us grew up in households where our parents and grandparents were in survival mode.

They had to shut down, deny, or repress their fear and grief in order to survive, because they had no other choice. If they expressed any emotions, it was usually anger in the form of rage — anger is an “acceptable” emotion because it is intimidating and scares others and isn’t seen as weak, but beneath it is often deep sadness and worry.

We learn what we are taught. We become what we see. We repeat what we know.