Study Shows Perceptions of Racial Discrimination Hinder Mental Health in Some Women
November 27th, 2009
Feeling as though one has been given a different or inadequate set of opportunities, or different treatment, due to racial background or appearance can have a negative effect on one’s general outlook and happiness, though many who face such difficulties are sometimes expected to simply shrug off the issue. A study recently performed at the University of Florida, however, has found that the perception of racial discrimination may significantly effect overall mental health. The study drew the participation of over two thousand adult African American women, examining their rates and symptoms of depression and other mental health concerns in comparison to their perceptions about discrimination. The work shows that while issues of racism and related discrimination are tackled in social and political life, reaching out to those in need with quality mental health care should be a priority.
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Comments
I do agree that such feeling will lead to negativities. It is because when you have such an outlook, it will spur an inferiority complex in you and you will actually perform worse than you are actually capable of…because of this mental block!
Well it goes without saying that feelings of being different from the main-stream(in a negative way) does lead to a lower self-esteem and as a result of this, it will further lead to the individual experiencing problems in their day-to-day lives as they will always tend to see others as discriminating against them.
I guess deep down inside I realize that race is still a factor for some people, but that is typically something that is so far removed from my own mind that I do sometimes have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept. I am sorry to hear that people of what would be considered minority races feel that they are still treated differently, and I can definitely see how this type of life could negatively affect your outlook on things.
No matter how much things improve with regard to the whole race thing, but some people just cannot get it out of their minds. Some have this superiority complex and others tend to have self-pity and think of any action towards them from a person of another race is racial in nature even if it actually isn’t. I think this is where the problem is. And this problem, I think, can be solved by having more and more community activities with a multi-racial participation.
What is it going to take in this world for race to be the non issue that it should be? This has been going on for so long now that I think there are those who just do not know how to break that cycle of hate but it has to be done to make the world a better place. The sooner we ALL realize that it is not the color of someone’s skin that determines who they are , but instead what kind of person they are on the inside that makes the difference, I think that this will be a wonderful world indeed. But until that time, while we are still having to have these discussions about people’s silly ideas regarding racial issues we can never be everything that we were meant to be.
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