What is the link between racism and mental health? Learn how discrimination affects anxiety, anger and self-confidence, plus ways to cope and support options.
A change in someone's facial expression when they hear your name in a job interview, a comment behind your back in a shop, a compliment that begins "But you're different, you're not like the others", or a much more open insult... Many Turks living abroad describe having been treated differently at some point in their lives because of their origin, name, language, religion or appearance. The relationship between racism and mental health shows that these experiences do not stay limited to that moment, but can over time affect how a person sees themselves, the people around them and the future. In this article we look at the psychological effects of discrimination with a balanced view, and share the practical steps you can take to protect and strengthen yourself.
Racism and Mental Health: What Is the Experience of Discrimination?
Discrimination is when a person is treated unfairly or differently because of the group they belong to. Racism is the form of this behaviour based on origin, ethnic identity or the perception of "race". Experiences of discrimination are generally lived at three levels:
- Overt discrimination: Insults, threats, physical attack or openly expressed exclusion.
- Institutional discrimination: Encountering origin-related barriers in hiring, housing, education or access to services.
- Everyday and implicit discrimination: Small but repeated messages. Your name being constantly mispronounced, the question "Where are you from, I mean where are you really from?", an achievement met with surprise, being interrupted in a meeting.
In psychology, the concept of "microaggression" is also used for the last category. Looked at one by one, these experiences may seem insignificant; but accumulating, they can create a constant state of being on guard.
An important point needs to be stressed here: discrimination is not specific to any one country or society. In every society there are both discriminatory attitudes and people and institutions that stand against them. The aim of this article is not to blame any society, but to understand and manage the mental effects of these experiences.
What Are the Psychological Signs of Discrimination?
Experiences of discrimination can produce different reactions in different people. Common effects are:
- Constant vigilance: Thinking "How will I be received here?" when entering a new setting, constantly checking people's reactions.
- Anxiety: Tension before visiting official institutions, worrying about your accent on the phone, sleep problems.
- Anger and a sense of injustice: Anger that builds up as experiences accumulate and is sometimes directed at those close to you.
- Self-questioning: The uncertainty of "Was it really discrimination, or am I exaggerating?" This uncertainty can itself be exhausting.
- Loss of self-confidence: The thought "Whatever I do, I won't be accepted" and giving up on goals.
- Withdrawal: Avoiding contact with the local community and staying only in a familiar circle.
- Physical complaints: Headaches, stomach problems, constant tiredness.
- Low mood: Prolonged unhappiness, hopelessness and pessimism about the future.
These signs alone do not mean a diagnosis. But if several of them have continued for a long time and are affecting your daily life, it is important to pay attention. For more detailed information about the signs of anxiety, you can look at our article on symptoms of anxiety.
Why Is Discrimination So Wearing?
It Is an Uncontrollable Source of Stress
The human mind copes more easily with stress it can control. Discrimination, because it is directed at something a person cannot change, their origin or name, can increase a sense of helplessness.
It Creates Uncertainty
One of the hardest aspects of everyday discrimination is its uncertainty. Not being sure whether a behaviour was really discrimination can lead a person to replay the event over and over in their mind and to doubt themselves.
It Damages the Need to Belong
Belonging is one of a person's basic psychological needs. Being treated as a "foreigner" in the country where you live, and being labelled a "gurbetçi" (expat) or "Almancı" (a label for Turks from Germany) when you go to Turkey, can create a feeling of not fully belonging in either place.
It Can Be Passed from Generation to Generation
The experiences of exclusion lived by first-generation immigrants can pass to later generations in the form of family stories, fears and advice. A warning such as "Be careful, they'll treat you differently" can be both protective and anxiety-raising.
It Can Be Hard to Talk About in a Cultural Context
In Turkish culture, "keeping problems inside", "being patient" and "not letting it show" are frequently advised attitudes. Although these attitudes provide resilience in some situations, they can make it harder to share and process an injustice that has been experienced.
Negative Messages Can Be Internalised
A person exposed to negative stereotypes for a long time can, without realising it, turn these messages into their own inner voice. Thoughts such as "Nothing is expected of people like me anyway" or "I shouldn't draw too much attention" can lead a person to turn down opportunities on their own and play down their achievements. This inner voice often feels so familiar that the person does not notice it was learned from outside. This process is especially important in the relationship between racism and mental health, because even if the outside environment changes, internalised messages can keep affecting the person.
Naming the injustice you have experienced is not magnifying it; it is the first step in understanding it and coping with it.
Effects on Relationships, Family and Children
Experiences of discrimination can affect not only a person's own inner world but also their close relationships. Imagine an engineer who has felt for months that he is being left in the background in promotion discussions at work. He tells no one; when he gets home he is impatient with his children and argues with his wife over small things. His wife, not understanding what the problem is, feels shut out. Here accumulated and unspoken stress shows itself in other forms within the family.
The effects of discrimination on the family can include:
- A parent becoming overprotective and restricting the child's social life,
- Pessimistic messages such as "We will never be accepted here" being passed on to children without realising,
- Arguments between spouses such as "You're exaggerating" or "You never react",
- The family withdrawing from the local community and turning inwards.
Noticing these effects is important not to blame the family but to be able to carry the load together. Being able to talk openly about what happens at home, and spouses being able to say to each other "I had a hard day today, and this is why", is one of the simplest ways of preventing stress from silently building up.
For the experiences of exclusion that children have at school and what families can do, you can read our article on discrimination at school.
What You Can Do on Your Own: Practical Steps
1. Record What You Have Experienced
When an incident happens, take brief notes: what happened, where, who was there, how did you feel? These notes help you regulate your emotions and, if needed, give concrete information in official complaints.
2. Name Your Feeling and Validate It
Saying "This upset me, angered me and made me feel humiliated" is healthier than suppressing the feeling. Being able to tell yourself "It's understandable that I reacted this way" softens the cycle of questioning yourself.
3. Review Your Thoughts
After experiences of discrimination the mind tends to generalise: "Everyone here is like this." This thought tries to protect you, but can also distance you from people who could be supportive. Ask yourself: "Who was this experience from? Who has treated me well? What is this thought gaining me right now, and what is it costing me?"
4. Build a Safe Circle of Support
Talking with friends who have lived through similar experiences reduces feelings of loneliness. At the same time, forming bonds with people you trust in the local community can balance the thought that "everyone is like this".
5. Learn Your Rights
In the country where you live there may be institutions to turn to against discrimination, HR departments at work or advice centres. Knowing about these channels reduces the feeling of helplessness. It is recommended that you get information from local specialists on legal processes.
6. Limit Media and News Consumption
Reading news about discrimination and social media comments for hours can increase anxiety. Setting a certain time each day and staying away from comment sections lightens the mental load.
7. Look After Your Body
Regular sleep, movement, breathing exercises and spending time in nature help reduce the physical effects of long-term stress. A simple exercise: breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, breathe out for six seconds; repeat this for a few minutes.
8. Nourish Your Identity
Make time for the things about your own culture that make you proud: music, literature, food, family stories. Forming a positive bond with your identity can have a protective effect against negative messages from outside.
9. Prepare Short, Clear Responses
In moments of everyday discrimination, most people freeze and then spend hours thinking "I should have said this." Preparing a few short responses beforehand can ease this cycle: "What you said made me uncomfortable." "This is how my name is pronounced." "I don't understand why you're asking this, could you explain?" You do not have to respond in every situation; your safety and energy always come first. Sometimes the healthiest choice is to leave the setting and talk about what happened later with someone you trust.
10. Find a Meaningful Area to Contribute
For some people, volunteering, activities with an association or mentoring newly arrived immigrants can turn a feeling of helplessness into a feeling of impact. This is not an obligation; but if it will do you good, it can be a valuable resource.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Support from a mental health professional may be useful in the following situations:
- If what you experienced will not leave your mind and is affecting your sleep and work life,
- If you feel constantly on guard, tense and uneasy,
- If your anger is harming your close relationships,
- If feelings of unhappiness, hopelessness and worthlessness have lasted for weeks,
- If you are withdrawing markedly from social life, work or school,
- If you have experienced a physical attack or threat and feel as if you are reliving that moment over and over.
In the case of a physical attack or threat, your safety is the priority; call the emergency number of the country where you are (112 in EU countries, 911 in the US and Canada, 999 or 112 in the UK, 000 in Australia). If you have thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life, likewise ask for emergency help without losing time. Online therapy is not an emergency intervention service; in situations of serious risk, local emergency departments and local psychiatric services are necessary.
How Does Work in Online Therapy in Your Native Language Go?
In conversations about racism and mental health, it is important for a person to be able to describe their experience without having to "prove" it. Talking in your native language with someone who knows the cultural context can make it easier to share, without needing to explain, the family advice to "be patient, don't show it", the "gurbetçi" label experienced on visits to Turkey, or feelings of shame. This does not replace the mental health services in the country where you live; it is an option that can be used alongside them or until you can reach them.
In work based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT):
- Validating the experience: What has happened and the feelings it has created are addressed without judgement.
- Work on thoughts: Thoughts such as "I will never be accepted" or "I am not good enough" are noticed; which experiences feed these thoughts and how they affect you are examined together.
- Stress management: Breathing, relaxation and attention-directing techniques are used to try to reduce the state of being on guard.
- Behavioural steps: Concrete goals are set, such as gradually returning to settings that have been avoided, widening the circle of support and learning about rights.
- Values and meaning: The focus is on helping the person build a life in line with their own values and feel at peace with their identity.
For people who have experienced a traumatic attack, signs of post-traumatic stress are also assessed. For online sessions, a quiet, private room, headphones and a secure connection are important; session times can be planned according to the time difference. Payment is made online and payment with an international card is possible; it is recommended that you check the insurance terms in the country where you live. For work aimed at people living abroad, you can look at our Turks living abroad page.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm not sure whether what I experienced was discrimination, but is it normal to still be affected?
Yes. Uncertainty is itself an exhausting experience. Even if you cannot be sure of the intention behind a behaviour, how it made you feel matters. Talking about these feelings with someone you trust or with a specialist can help you see the situation more clearly.
Does the relationship between racism and mental health leave permanent damage?
Although experiences of discrimination are hard, people have the capacity to cope with these experiences and to grow strong again. Supportive relationships, a positive bond with one's identity and, when needed, professional support are important parts of this process.
Should I tell my children that I have experienced discrimination?
Telling them in an age-appropriate and calm way can help children understand the world. What matters is giving the message "Some people can behave wrongly, but we are valuable and there are people on our side" instead of pessimistic or generalising messages.
I'm having therapy in the country where I live. Can I also have sessions in Turkish?
This is possible and can be useful for some people. However, it is important to think about how two different therapy processes will affect each other, and to talk openly about this with your current therapist.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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