Canada is one of the most culturally-diverse countries in the world. However, with a history of colonization, discrimination and racism, we see a higher proportion of mental health problems for racialized people. They feel discouraged and disempowered. The experience of racism can also be traumatic.
When we think about post-traumatic stress disorder, we tend to think in terms of veterans, people involved in motor-vehicle accident or sexual abuse/assault victims. However, racial discrimination is a idiosyncratic experience faced by Black and First Nation people in Canada that impacts their psychological functioning and well-being. A sequence of racism occurrences can include, but are not limited to, being followed when shopping in a store, profiling by the police when driving and discrimination in the workplace. These contribute to the trauma that many individuals face every day over the course of their lives. A traumatic experience includes symptoms of intrusion (flashbacks, distressing memories of events), avoidance (avoids White people and thinking about the trauma), negative mood and cognitions (fear, thinking the world is not a safe place) and arousal/reactivity (poor sleep pattern, hypervigilance) in minority groups which causes significant distress or impairment in function-ing (i.e. social, occupation, academics).
According to a research conducted by Clark et al. (2015), the outcome indicated that there is a greater chance for mood dis-orders and substance use (as a coping mechanism) with higher degrees of discrimination. An article by Leslie Young from Global News noted that research over many years shows a connection to mental disorders and the experience of discrimination and racism. Furthermore, it was stated that stress due to racism has been related to problems in physical health such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
It is unlikely that individuals who experience repeated racial discrimination and trauma through-out their life are not affected by it, especially their mental health. Moreover, there is significant documentation showing the mental health challenges that First Nation and Black people face (i.e., a high suicide rate, addictions, domestic violence and depression) associated with a history of marginalization, oppression, displacement and trauma.
It is imperative for individuals who experience racism to seek psychotherapy, from a culturally-competent psychotherapist, to talk about their experiences and get support in their healing journey.
References
- Clark, T.T., Salas-Wright, C.P., Vaughn, M.G., & Whitfield, K.E. (2015). Everyday discrimination and mood and substance use disorders: A latent profile analysis with African Americans and Caribbean Blacks; Addictive Behaviours, 40, 119-125. Retrieved on July 25, 2020 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034719/
- Goernment of Canada. (1996). Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Retrieved on July 25 2020 from https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/aboriginal-heritage/royal-commission-aboriginal-peoples/Pages/final-report.aspx
- Young, L. (2018). ‘It’s a traumatic moment’: How everyday racism can impat mental, physical health. Retrieved July 25, 2020 from https://globalnews.ca/news/4119857/racism-mental-health/.