From Beijing to Bangkok, hundreds of thousands of Asians have joined the same road to self-discovery, seeking answers to life’s big questions through seminars, motivational speakers and career coaches. In China, people are attending seminars telling them how to get into Harvard or have better sex. In Indonesia, rich housewives are looking for meaning beyond their gated mansions and swimming pools. The multimillion-dollar industry is expanding exponentially with each new success story, from the boardroom or the bedroom. But as Asians come to discover they have “issues” with their parents or upbringing, they could end up unwittingly challenging traditional beliefs. “People are not generally comfortable talking about themselves,” says Chau Beng Haut, a sociologist at the National University of Singapore. “It’s a break away from this kind of reticence in Asia.”
Asia’s dizzying economic growth during the past decade, which has vastly expanded the ranks of the middle class, has allowed more people than ever before the luxury of asking what it all means. And the region’s recent financial doldrums has produced feelings of depression that many believe only therapy can cure. In most Asian societies, the lines have traditionally been clearly drawn: wives are expected to defer to their husbands, and children to their parents. Outward displays of emotion are frowned upon and mental illness is considered taboo. In the new seminars, on the other hand, participants unwilling to endure the shame of talking to family or friends about emotional problems can find anonymity, discussing their personal lives with 90 strangers. Some programs go even further toward breaking the mold: clients in one seminar punch and scream obscenities at pillows while pretending they’re their parents.
Experts caution that such courses are no cure-all. “People working in the coaching area who don’t have a sophisticated psychological background can do damage,” says Michael Cavanagh, a psychologist at the University of Sydney. And many criticize seminar organizers for being extremely aggressive in getting people to sign up for courses–again and again–regardless of their mental state. “There’s quite a bit of pressure to go onto the different levels,” admits Stephanie, who encourages participants to enroll in advanced seminars. “We say ‘strongly suggest,’ but it’s peer pressure.”
Yet the sheer number of middle-class Asians taking part in the self-help craze is a strong sign that the traditional ways may no longer satisfy people’s emotional needs. A very un-Asian physical communication was on prominent display in Singapore recently as famed American motivational guru Anthony Robbins led a love fest of 4,000 hugging and crying participants–who paid up to $2,000 a pop. Finding one’s inner child is apparently more about being wealthy than Western.
