Racism and mental health

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Experiencing racial discrimination and injustice can take a heavy emotional toll and trigger chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and racial trauma. But there are ways to strengthen your resilience and protect your mental health.

Horrifying images of police brutality and spark protests tend to grab the news headlines. But if you’re black or another racial minority, experiencing racism and discrimination is often a daily but overlooked reality—and it can take a serious toll on your mental health, increasing your risk for depression, anxiety, stress, trauma, and substance abuse.

As a person of color, you’re far more likely to experience negative life events such as poverty, unemployment, incarceration, or abuse. Our society often overlooks black and minority contributions to history and culture, and popular movies and TV shows tend to focus only on negative racial stereotypes. Some prominent politicians advocate hateful, violent bigotry. Financial institutions are less likely to grant you credit—or charge much more for doing so. And when disaster strikes, such as the global coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic fallout, our black and minority communities bear the brunt of the suffering.

Then there are the subtler forms of racism that pervade modern life. The security guard follows you around the store because of your skin color. The police officers who stop and search you without cause. The business that denies you service. The boss who overlooks you for promotion—again. The white people who cross the street when you approach avoid sitting next to you on the bus or hold their bags tighter when you step into an elevator. Such prevalent “micro-aggressions” can be emotionally scarring and leave you feeling marginalized, overwhelmed by stress, and devalued as a human being. You may rage against the lack of equality in our society, despair at the sense of powerlessness, or feel traumatized by the injustice of it all.

Whatever your experiences of racism, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. There is strength in numbers and steps you can take to better cope with circumstances outside of your control, no matter how abhorrent they may be. There is also hope. Powerful movements are pushing for social change worldwide, and many more people finally seem to be taking note. While personal bias and systemic and institutional racism aren’t going to disappear overnight, there are plenty of things you can do to stand up to discrimination, strengthen your family and community, and protect your mental health in the face of ignorance and intolerance.