-
🧨 Cultural Pressure Meets Digital Life
Between Sanskaar and Selfies: Navigating Confidence When Culture Taught You to Stay Small What does confidence look like for the girl who was told:“Don’t talk too much.”“Sit properly.”“What will people say?”And now… “Speak up!” “Use your voice!” “Be bold!” In this confusing double bind, South Asian girls are expected to be both obedient daughters and unapologetic icons—often in the same breath.This isn’t just a social shift.It’s a deep, emotional contradiction.Let’s unpack it. 🫥 “How Can I Be Confident When My Culture Taught Me to Shrink First, Speak Second?” Before we were told to be confident, we were taught to be careful.To observe. To not interrupt. To speak when spoken to.…
-
Essay: Awareness is the First Act of Rebellion
Mental health is not a Western concept. It is not a weakness, not a shameful indulgence, and not something that only “other people” need. And yet, in too many South Asian households, women are taught to dismiss their inner worlds — to smile, to serve, and to suppress. According to a 2022 Mental Health America report, only 10% of South Asian women seek professional help for mental illness, despite reporting high levels of anxiety, depression, and intergenerational trauma. Even more alarming is that 60% have never even spoken to a family member about their mental health. The silence is cultural. But the silence is also fatal. The burden of being…
-
When Family Is the Trigger: Setting Boundaries in South Asian Households
South Asian Mental Health • Boundaries • Family Dynamics • Intergenerational Trauma • Emotional Safety • Cultural Expectations 🏠 “But they’re your family.” In South Asian cultures, family is sacred — but sometimes, it’s also the source of deep emotional distress. When the people you’re expected to love unconditionally are the very ones who invalidate, belittle, or trigger you, setting boundaries becomes not just difficult — but radical. ⚡ Love Without Limits = Burnout From guilt-tripping to constant comparison, many of us grow up absorbing the belief that enduring is loving. But love without boundaries quickly turns into resentment, burnout, and suppressed identity. 🚩 Common Family Triggers 🔁 Cultural Rationalizations…
-
The Role of Mothers and Daughters in Breaking Mental Health Stigmas
👩🏽🤝👩🏽 “What Will People Say?” For generations, South Asian mothers carried the weight of silence. Emotional pain was endured, not discussed. Therapy was taboo. Vulnerability was weakness. But something is changing — and daughters are leading it. Together, mothers and daughters are becoming a powerful force in rewriting the narrative around mental health. 🌿 A History of Silence In many South Asian homes, the mother is the emotional anchor — yet often, she has never been given space to feel. Many of our mothers never had the language to name anxiety, depression, or trauma. Their coping became our blueprint. 💬 Generational Norms (Then) 💡 Emerging Mindsets (Now) “We don’t talk…
-
Mental Health Red Flags We Were Taught to Ignore
🧱 “It’s Just Stress.” In many South Asian households, the early signs of mental health issues are brushed aside — labeled as laziness, moodiness, or overthinking. What the West might call symptoms, we were taught to ignore, endure, or spiritualize away. 🚩 The Red Flags We Missed Growing up, we weren’t taught how to recognize mental distress — especially when it came in quiet, insidious forms. Here are just a few red flags many of us were told not to worry about: 🚨 Red Flag 🙅🏽♀️ How It Was Dismissed Withdrawing from social activities “She’s just being dramatic.” Sleeping too much or too little “Lazy. Get up and be productive.”…
-
“Breaking the Silence: Why South Asian Women Struggle to Talk About Mental Health”
You would think that in a world as connected as ours, in a time where hashtags like #MentalHealthAwareness trend every other day, it would be easy for everyone to talk about what’s hurting inside. But for many South Asian women, it isn’t. It’s like being trapped in a glass box — you can see the world outside moving forward, embracing vulnerability, but your voice remains stuck in your throat. It’s not because they don’t feel pain. It’s not because they don’t want help. It’s because for generations, they’ve been taught that suffering in silence is strength. Growing up, many South Asian girls hear phrases like: There’s a deep, invisible script…
Daughters of Strength, Bosses by Choice