Health experts state that minorities are born into racial trauma, in addition to experiencing it daily.
Racial trauma is race-based traumatic stress due to a person’s cumulative experiences of race on physical and mental health. Causes for racial trauma range from workplace discrimination and hate crimes, to microaggressions, to systems and institutions of structural oppression. A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that approximately 34% of Native Americans and 23% of Blacks experience at least one of these slights every day or at least once a week. Racial trauma may be compounded by additional oppression due to gender or sexual orientation.
According to Candice Nicole Hargons, race-based stress that persists over a long time leads to racial trauma. The most common physical symptoms of racial trauma are increased heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol levels, body tension, sweating, chronic exhaustion, and fatigue. Depression, internalized racism, and avoiding situations are some of the psychological symptoms of racial trauma. Research shows there is much overlap between the symptoms of racial trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The health care system is not proportionally represented with individuals who can relate to patients and understand their experience as a racial minority. This makes it difficult for individuals to seek help for racial trauma and other illnesses.
Adding racial trauma to the DSM-V as an official diagnosis is not the solution, according to Erlanger Turner. Instead, he recommends increasing awareness and understanding of the prevalence of racial trauma, especially for health care providers and policy makers.