Erasing ShameShame is a hefty word. The complexities get greater as you unpack it. To unravel that shame is a lifetime process and that’s when the adventure begins.
Irene Cho poignantly opens up about her lived experiences of erasing shame, dealing with her imperfections, discovering her family history, and why immigrant Asian parents are the way they are.
findingtheinbetween.com
Follow on Twitter @irenemcho
Like on Facebook facebook.com/irenemcho
What happens when we don’t process our emotions? Pent up emotional toxicity weighs us down in our body, mind and spirit. Emotions are meant to be fully processed and follow a full course of action within our physical body, and then be released outward from our body into productive spaces/activities. When the expression of those natural emotions become suppressed, our mind and bodies will process them in unhealthy ways. Here’s a first step to learning about healthy ways to releasing toxic energy and emotions for a healthier mind and body.
Psychology:
How to create positive affirmations for your life:
There’s so much more to shame than just feeling bad or unworthy. Chinese American blogger Fred Mok (a pastor at Garden City Church, San Jose, California) shares poignant insights from Asian and Asian American cultures that reveal other dimensions of shame that are objective, communal, and relational.
Fred Mok’s blog post— How Asian Americans Misunderstand Shame
Fred blogs at breadbeforerice.blogspot.com
Brené, we love your work, we really do! Know that you have an open invite here at Erasing Shame. We know you are working very hard on many things, so please do stay healthy and have good self-care.
Season 3 opener with co-hosts DJ Chuang and Nancy Ly, introductions and overview of what’s coming up in this new season of Erasing Shame.
Facebook Group: Erasing Shame… One Story at a Time
Be a part of the movement and share your stories of shame, overcoming and freedom! Your story matters & has the ability to unlock healing in so many others! The more people share, the more we can normalize the conversation and thereby help each other become a healthier version of ourselves and for a healthier world.
Shame can only be overcome by replacing it with compassion and love, so this is intended to be a safe community for you to continue your healing journey.
Mental health and mental illness are very challenging topics to talk about or discuss, especially among Asians, Asian Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders. Real-life stories portrayed in films and movies can powerfully help people to start those discussions, to address these matters in an indirect way, and towards erasing shame.
Award-winning speaker and advocate Emily Wu Troung compiles this list of film documentaries about Asian Americans and mental health. Posted with permission. Thank you Emily! (show your thanks and like her Facebook page)
“Looking for Luke” by Eric I-Hwa Lu & Elaine Coin
Website: lookingforlukefilm.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/lookingforlukefilm
“Unbroken Glass” by Dinesh Sabu
Website: unbrokenglassfilm.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/UnbrokenGlassFilm/
Watch online @ worldchannel.org/episode/unbroken-glass/
“Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Kristina Wong Website: flyingwong.com
Trailer here: flyingwong.com/trailer.html
Facebook Page: facebook.com/flyingwong
“The S Word” by Lisa Klein
Facebook Page: facebook.com/SuiDoc
Website: theswordmovie.com
“Voices: Human & Untold Stories of Psychosis” by Gary Tsai & Hiroshi Hara
Trailer here: voicesdocumentary.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/voicesdocumentary
“Can” by Pearl J. Park
Trailer here: youtube.com/watch?v=V720lROtoPE
Website: amongourkin.org
“Silent War: Asian American Reckoning with Mental Health” silentwarmovie.com
“The Laundromat” by Vanessa Yee
Website: atthelaundromat.com
Trailer here: vimeo.com/37093248
Facebook Page: facebook.com/TheLaundromatDocumentary
“Adultolescence” by Vicky Shen
Website: adultolescence.net
Facebook Page: facebook.com/adultolescence
“The House of Suh” by Iris K. Shim
Website: thehouseofsuh.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/thehouseofsuh
Free viewing on Hulu: hulu.com/watch/527813
“Children of the Camps” by Dr. Satsuki Ina
pbs.org/childofcamp/documentary/
“The Cats of Mirikitani” by Linda Hattendorf & Masa Yoshikawa
thecatsofmirikitani.com
“Dialogues with Madwomen” by Allie Light
wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c141.shtml
“Who’s Going to Pay for These Donuts, Anyway?” by Janice Tanaka
wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c112.shtml
“Raymond’s Portrait” by Donald C. Young
fanlight.com/catalog/films/267_rp.php
[attempted] “Things I Never Said” is a documentary seeking to inspire API groups to open up about their mental health issues. They’re raising funds for production costs via an Indiegogo crowdfunding in February-March 2019.
The following are resources listed at this page of mental health resources for people of color, curated by the American Psychological Association (APA) :
Also see this list of top articles about Asian American mental health.
On this episode of “Seen: An Erasing Shame Podcast,” Senior Reporter at the Hollywood Reporter Rebecca Sun joins Eunice Lee to discuss the history of Asian-American representation in the media, the effects of whitewashing, and the triumph of seeing Asian-American representation on screen.
“Onscreen representation matters. It gives words or it gives visuals to experiences that we feel, and it validates them. It’s literally like a mirror. Why do we check ourselves out in a mirror? To make sure that what we are feeling is what’s indeed being presented, understood and conveyed accurately. And so when you don’t have representation, it’s like you’ve been walking through this world without a mirror. You are completely not in control of how you’re being perceived.”
– Rebecca Sun
*** CORRECTION: the podcast Eunice mentioned is called “They Call Us Bruce” by Phil Yu and Jeff Yang
Angry Asian Man – angryasianman.com
Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment – capeusa.org
“Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism” by Nancy Wang Yuen #book
Behind the Scenes at The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Cover Shoot” in The Hollywood Reporter (August 2, 2018) #article
On this season 2 finale, DJ Chuang shares highlights from the year of 2018, that is, the first 2 seasons of Erasing Shame, plus the special summer series on Erasing Shame about Mental Health in Asian American Communities. This episode wraps up with a Top 10 Countdown of the most popular episodes that you won’t want to miss.
Summer Series: Erasing Shame about Mental Health in Asian American Communities
Real feelings don’t always tell the truth. Dave Dicken is a Crisis Counselor at Crisis Text Line and he shares a bunch of very practical tips for how to help yourself or someone you know to have courage, find resilience, and get healing.
When the pain is overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be a crisis. There’s no shame in asking for help. It doesn’t require a doctor’s visit or talking on the phone.
Just text. Text HOME to 741741 (in the USA) and know you’re not alone. Tell someone you care about to do this any time they feel the pain is too much to bear and want help. In Canada, text HOME to 686868 for help at your fingertips.
Youtube channel for Make Someone Great Today youtube.com/@makesomeonegreattoday1894
Website makesomeonegreattoday.com
Crisis Text Line www.crisistextline.org
Singles already know they’re single. They don’t need pressure or shame, especially around the holidays. DJ Chuang and Maylee Chang Tao talk about this personal and poignant topic that affects like 50% of the adult population.
Grace Sangalang Ng is our special guest. Grace is a Ed.D. student (Talbot School of Theology) researching how shame affects Asian Americans in the classroom, so she is more than well qualified to talk intelligibly about shame. She also shares from her own experiences of shame as a second-generation Filipino-American.
DJ Chuang hosts this episode. But, he forgot to ask her about Pinoy.
Connect with Grace Ng on Facebook facebook.com/grace.sangalang and Instagram instagram.com/gsangala.ng
Also, Grace Sangalang Ng is a contributor at The Two Cities blog.