It's not, not necessarily. There isn't as much research on help-seeking as there should be, but there are some interesting observations.

I'm failing to find the references right now, so take with several grains of salt, but this is what I recall: asking for assistance does not lower status, and might even enhance it; while asking for complete solution is indeed status-lowering. I.e. if you ask for hints or general help in solving a problem, that's ok, but if you ask for someone to give you an answer directly, that isn't.

But all of that is a bit beside the point. In the abovementioned approach, you aren't really "asking for help." You are just talking with people, telling them what you wish to achieve, and asking for their thoughts. They can choose to jump in and offer help if they want (which can be, and most often is, a happiness-enhancing action for themselves as well as for you).