Humiliated and isolated: Racism causes disease

2024-01-17 08:04:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Humiliated and isolated: Racism causes disease

Illustrative photo

Meryam Schouler-Ocak experienced it herself - recently on a train in Germany I was sitting across from two elderly ladies, who were looking at me from head to toe the entire time. She initially thought that there is something unusual in her body, or in her clothes. But there was no such thing. She just has completely black hair and is of Turkish origin.

Schouler-Ocak calls these forms of racist discrimination "microaggressions". "Many people with a migration background, with dark skin or hair, experience this kind of discrimination almost every day," says the professor of cross-cultural psychiatry and specialist in psychiatry, psychotherapy and neurology at the Charité, University Clinic at the Hospitals of St. Hedwig in Berlin.

Contemptuous glances, insulting words and insults - racist discriminations of this kind accumulate and can cause illness. "It can also develop into post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses," says Schouler-Ocak.

Depression and fear of racism

Like any other form of discrimination—be it sexism or anti-Semitism—racism is intended to offend a person. In the case of racism, people are belittled or isolated based on their origin, skin color or other general characteristics.

Those affected experience this not only in the form of belittlement but also with aggressive behavior. So-called structural and institutional racism discriminates against people, for example, when looking for an apartment or in the job market. Those who have dark skin, wear headscarves or have a foreign name have worse odds, says Schouler-Ocak.

Repeated insults do not remain without consequences for those affected. "Racist discrimination has a significant effect on health," says expert Meryam Schouler-Ocak. People who experience this type of discrimination are twice as likely to suffer from mental illness than people who do not have such experiences.

Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorders, addiction or psychosis - the risk of such diseases increases. The reason is the fact that racist discrimination affects brain activity, says Schouler-Ocak. "There are disorders in certain areas of the brain, as well as in mental illness."

High risk of diseases

The risk is particularly high for those people who, for example, after fleeing their hometown, end up in some collective housing, she says. In addition to the trauma of running away and being separated from family and friends, there are other stressful factors: lack of work, lack of private sphere and various experiences of discrimination. "Such events that follow an escape have a cumulative effect," says Schouler-Ocak. The more such experiences, the worse.

The psychiatrist believes that the frequency and extent of mental illness is generally underestimated. In the case of fugitives, the problem is even greater, she says. At the same time, mental illness rarely comes alone. The stress people experience as a result of racial discrimination can also cause many physical problems: high blood pressure and obesity are common symptoms, says Schouler-Ocak. Diabetes and diseases of the heart and circulatory system may follow. "Pregnant women have a higher risk of giving birth prematurely, underweight," she says about the consequences of racist discrimination.

Increased mortality due to discrimination

All this leads to increased mortality of affected persons, as shown by a current study in the professional journal Lancet Psychiatry. Scientists have investigated how racism affects the psychological health of dark-skinned people in the US.

Although the amount of data collected is relatively small, there are indications that racist discrimination does not only negatively affect the health of those directly affected, but also the health of children and their descendants. Epigenetics deals with this field of influence of environmental factors on gene activity.

"Racism and racist structures have developed throughout history and are therefore tightly integrated into society," says Schouler-Ocak. Human rights organization Amnesty International says, "Like it or not, most white people act racist every day." That's why he thinks it's important to be aware of the different forms of racism so that behavior and language can be adjusted accordingly./ DW