March 14, 2023
Racial Trauma as Mental and Emotional Trauma
Alexa Guarente '25
We need to be treating racial trauma and race-based traumatic stress as mental and emotional trauma.
It's no secret that racial discrimination leads to negative mental health outcomes, but many people (including myself at one point), dismiss their experiences rather than acknowledge the harm these experiences have on mental wellness, and very few classify their experiences as mentally traumatic. According to Mental Health America, "racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes." Racial trauma is mental and emotional trauma. Anything from individual acts of racism, like being called a slur, to broader systemic events, like past and current policies of segregation, can impose racial trauma. Events like these have a serious psychological impact, but oftentimes people of color brush them under the rug. It's time we stop dismissing our trauma and call out the effect it has on mental well-being.
Personally, I grew up in the third whitest state in the country, was raised by a white mother, and was the only black girl in my entire high school. For the longest time, I just viewed this as part of my life, and it wasn't until recently that I recognized the psychological toll my experience had on me. I endured my fair share of racial bias, racism, disrespect, and discrimination, all of which I (again) categorized as just a part of my growing up.
Now, I recognize this has impacted the way I view myself and the world around me. I've suffered mentally and emotionally from the isolation I felt and the racial discrimination I endured. I've suffered mentally from being told by society that my life doesn't matter, from being called the N-word, from being the only Black girl in a school of hundreds of people, and from not being seen or heard. I now realize that my experiences were not something normal, but something traumatic, and should be treated as such. Racial trauma needs to be regarded as equally challenging when compared to any other trauma one endures in the developmental years of their life. For me, I have made the active decision to attempt to heal from the stress and trauma of being a Black woman.
To heal, we must first recognize our individual and systemic experiences with racial stressors as a form of trauma, so that we can tend to our wounds the way we would any other traumatic experience. Acknowledge the resulting symptoms, whether it be sadness, depression, or anxiety. We must acknowledge our traumatic circumstances to treat, heal, and protect from race-based traumatic stress.
The second step to healing is allowing ourselves to feel all of the anger, sadness, and disappointment that result from our lived experiences. We cannot hold these emotions inside. Look for a support system in the shared experiences of like-minded Black folks. Or, talk to a licensed therapist about our experiences with race-based stressors and how they've impacted our mental health. If you're not ready to talk quite yet, try journaling or writing to let go of what's impacted you. It's crucial to allow ourselves to feel and release the things that have harmed us.
We can heal by practicing self-care. This can look different for everyone. This can mean exercising, taking time to ourselves, or meditating. We can self-care by standing up to racial injustices that speak to us through peaceful protest, taking a break from social media, or simply allowing ourselves to rest. It doesn't matter how you decide to practice, self-care plays a crucial role in healing from trauma.
Learn more about RBTS and to find therapeutic and self-care tools and resources pertaining to racial trauma, visit https://www.mhanational.org/racial-trauma