Gentrification is Not Exclusive to White People

What many young professionals don’t often realize is that they also play a role in this gentrification process. It becomes even more nuanced when young professionals from generally high-earning backgrounds claim proximity to lower-earning ethnic enclaves due to their shared “South Asian-ness” or “non-whiteness.” This practice, fueled by the model minority myth, erases a lot of the ways in which communities are not the same and propels gentrification much more deceptively. Race and socioeconomic status are intersectional, and one cannot filter out one part of a community identity without acknowledging the other.

opinionTania ChatterjeeAugust 13, 2021gentrification, opinion, policy, urban, model minority myth, class privilege, economic disparities, intersectionalityComment

Support from Immigrant Parents for Mental Health

While they aren’t perfect in their approach (who is?), I appreciate when they ask me questions and try to understand my illness. I appreciate when they acknowledge that I have a hard time in certain situations. I love when they let me live my life how I need to in order to thrive by my standards and not theirs.

mental healthTania ChatterjeeJuly 17, 2021mental health, severe mental illness, psychosis, family, denialComment

I don't sleep anymore.

Panic. I guess that’s the only way I can describe the feeling I get when I wake up. Anxiety from middle school, into high school, ebbing into my college life. Now, a month out of college, anxiety is the only thing I feel when I try to watch TV, or read a book, or go to sleep. I feel anxiety when I’m not working, but sometimes I'm too anxious to even work.

While this diagnosis certainly came as a surprise, I’m grateful for the opportunity to discover more about myself as I embark on this journey of healing and self-love.

mental healthTania ChatterjeeJune 29, 2021anxiety, panic, sleep, productivity, therapy, mental healthComment

The Power of Reflection

Ankit Sheth is a consultant and founder based in D.C. He is passionate about serving people and wants to make healthier mental health more accessible. In light of the many thoughts brought on during quarantine, he is working on Canded. Learn more at Canded.me or follow us on instagram @askcanded!

mental healthTania ChatterjeeDecember 16, 2020reflection, COVID-19, community organization, mental healthComment

Raising Awareness of Eating Disorders

Hi! I'm Ria and I'm 15 years old. I am from the UK and have been battling anorexia for the last 2 years. This topic is quite personal to me, and I really believe that it’s important to start raising more awareness now than ever. Eating disorders need to be talked about more openly, as they are very often misunderstood.

mental healthTania ChatterjeeNovember 12, 2020eating disorder, anorexia, mental health, advocacyComment

The Existential Fear of Being Queer: A Coming Out Story

“I’m not interested in having a physical relationship with anyone because it disgusts me.”

In a nutshell, that’s pretty much how I came out as asexual to my parents. I did not want to. I was not ready. I believe that every person should be able to pick the moment that’s the most comfortable and safe for them to come out. However, I can’t help but feel like I was robbed of that.

The two dreaded words that prompted this moment: arranged marriage.

sexualityTania ChatterjeeOctober 20, 2020sexuality, asexuality, sexual orientation, coming out, arranged marriage, LGBTQComment

Contact Us to Submit Your Work

Blog Submission Guidelines:

Submissions should be original work that you are choosing to have published on the SASMHA blog page. Submissions will be judged on the basis of the quality of writing, relevance to SASMHA mission and community members, and offering novel or meaningful insight into the South Asian American diasporic experience.
Work can include but is not limited to: personal stories or testimonials, pictures, artwork, poems, videos or movies, articles/features, and perspectives or opinion pieces.
We do our best to publish blogs as submitted, but may make some slight edits for style, language, spelling, grammar, or context.
When submitting, we recommend submitting a short 1-2 sentence bio. You are also encouraged to include your name, a photo you would like to be shared (either personal or a stock photo), and any contact information or social media handles you want to be shared. You may also share a submission anonymously if you would prefer.

Articles published on this blog are not necessarily endorsed by SASMHA, and instead solely represent the views of the author.

Thoughts, stories, and art shared by the community

Contact Us to Submit Your Work