Mallika Kallingal

CNN — Meimei Xu grew up in Illinois, Florida and Georgia. But that didn't stop people from asking her where she was from. The 19-year-old says growing up Asian American wasn't easy. When she was in grade school there were classmates who made hurtful comments about Chinese food being strange and one of them even told her Chinese girls weren't attractive. But Xu doesn't want those experiences defining her. She would rather define her own existence. The recent Atlanta-area spa shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women, are shining a spotlight on the struggles of Asian American communities across the US. And experts are warning how the rise in anti-Asian violence can leave lasting mental health repercussions. A study by California State University's Center for Study of Hate & Extremism shows that anti-Asian hate crimes increased 149% in 2020, with the first spike occurring amidst a rise in Covid-19 cases and negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic. One psychiatrist says anti-Asian racism can have far reaching mental health repercussions. In an article published in New England Journal of Medicine, Dr James H Lee said that physicians don't address issues with patients who have experienced racism risk leaving them to deal with mental illness on their own. In a Pew Research study published in July 2020, 58% of Asian-Americans felt anti-Asian racism had worsened since the beginning of the pandemic. And 26% feared that someone might threaten or physically attack them.