By Grace Galletti, Photo: Hung Chung Chih/iStock, California Health Report, February 2, 2022
Growing up, Tony remembers feeling like an orphan, even though he had two parents. Wherever he went, even with his own family, he felt like he didn’t fit in.
Tony, who did not want his last name included because of stigma around mental illness, immigrated from China to the Bay Area 40 years ago. At age 12, he began to struggle with depression and anxiety. He had a hard time talking to his family about it, which left him feeling isolated. His family’s uncommon dialect also made it hard for him to talk to other Chinese immigrants. And the enormous pressure he felt to succeed meant he was too busy studying to make many friends.
“If I had bad grades, I felt suicidal,” said Tony, who is now 46. “For me, it was like, life or death,”
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