Racism and racial 歧视 can negatively affect your physical and mental health. Regardless of your previous awareness, you may find yourself struggling to process your reactions to current and/or past experiences of racism and racial 歧视 — reflecting an experience known as racial trauma. 以下 provides information on racial trauma and resources to foster resilience and healthy coping.

什么是种族创伤?

Racial trauma is the emotional, 心理, and physical reaction People of Color experience as a result of exposure to ongoing or persistent acts of hate, 偏见, 歧视, 或不耐受. Racial trauma can affect many aspects of a person’s life, including their ability to have relationships, concentrate on school or work, 感觉安全.

Exposure may be either direct or indirect, including:

• Experiencing racial 歧视, teasing, and/or harassment.

• Viewing repeated images or viral videos of brutality directed toward your racial community (vicarious trauma).

• Witnessing the people close to you or from your racial community be affected by racism.

• Being made aware of and/or reminded of the longstanding history and influence of racism directed toward your racial community in the US and world.

Racism and 歧视 experiences do not exist in isolation. Racial trauma builds over time as a person experiences large and small racial events. Every encounter with racism and/or racial 歧视 that happens to you or that you witness or read about contributes to additional chronic stress.

Why is it important to learn about Racial Trauma?

Acknowledgment and validation that racial trauma is a real thing plays a critical role in moving toward restoration and healing. 作为一个有色人种, you may find yourself having a very difficult time feeling calm, 感觉安全的, feeling empowered when you are reminded of the racial injustices in our world. Knowing that you are not alone and that this reaction is warranted and normal can help. There is not a “right” way of processing or reacting to racial trauma. But, the first step is recognizing it and learning about it.

种族创伤的迹象

Racial trauma can be experienced in our bodies and minds in many ways. Some symptoms include, but are not limited to:

• Hypervigilance and increased arousal
• Re-experiencing thoughts, feelings, and/or images related to racial incidents
• 头痛
• 记忆丧失
• 自责或自我憎恨
• 失眠
• 身体疼痛
• 内疚和羞耻
• 混乱

The more often you experience acts of racism, the more profound these symptoms can be.

如何应对

It can be difficult to know where to begin when you are experiencing racial trauma. 以下是一些建议:

• Acknowledge the impact of racial trauma.
• Discuss your experiences with those you trust.
• 寻求支持(e).g. community, counseling, spiritual or religious guidance).
• Self-Care: Engage in activities that bring pleasure and promote healthy lifestyle.
• Empowerment through Resistance: Speak up and engage in community service or activism.

We understand that you are the expert on your own experience and know your needs better than anyone. At Hawkeye, you are not alone. If you need a confidential space to sort out what is happening to you, make an appointment and come talk to our counselor in our 学生健康诊所. This service is a wonderful free resource.

Feel free to also share your thoughts and feelings with your advisor or academic/college success advisor in 学生 Services.

Additionally, here are some tips that we hope you will find helpful:

Self-Care: Recovery Plan Steps

以下 Racism Recovery Plan Steps [pdf] were created by the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and 文化 版权所有.

种族健康工具箱

Describe what you are like when you are managing and responding to racism and racial trauma in a healthy manner.

Daily 维护 of Centeredness

List connections or tools that help you maintain your centeredness in the face of racism. Such items include, but are not limited to:

• 资源 on racial identity and racial trauma.
• Connect with friends who are equally or better able to engage in conversations about racial awareness.
• Engage in prayer, spiritual practices , or use of mantras.
• 参与行动主义.
• 练习自我管理(1).e. healthy eating, exercise, and favorite activities that help you feel centered).

触发因素和应对计划

List items or experiences that tend to result in racial trauma symptoms (e.g. 愤怒、孤立、悲伤). After each item or experience, identify a specific centeredness response (e.g. calling a friend, writing in your journal, activism).

Early Warning Signs and Response Plan

List early warning signs that you are experiencing racial trauma (e.g. 身体疼痛, 乏力, 焦虑, 抑郁症, difficulty 睡眠ing) and related ways of coping from your Daily 维护 of Centeredness coping skills list.

Acute Racial Trauma Response Plan

List signs that you are experiencing acute racial trauma (e.g. hypervigilance; heightened emotional experiences, 比如抑郁症, 焦虑, 和愤怒, which compromise your ability to engage in chosen activities of work, 睡眠, 或学校). Identify an action plan for each item on your list.

危机计划

Ask yourself how you would know if you were experiencing a crisis due to racism (e.g. thoughts of harm to others/or self; inability to care for self and/or others; acute racial trauma symptoms that last longer than a specified duration). List a person(s) or additional resources to contact in the event you experience such a crisis.

危机后规划

List ways of reconnecting with yourself and your communities to regain centeredness in the face of racism and racial trauma.

资源

教师资源

• How faculty can encourage dialogue on campus
• Teaching Toolkit for leading discussions on contentious issues, modeling openness and respect (2020)
• Making Sense of the Senseless (2020)
• 谈论种族主义, Racial Equity and Racial Healing with Friends, 家庭, Colleagues and Neighbors [pdf] (2020)
• Civil Discourse in the Classroom. Simple approaches to tough conversations (2019)

理解种族创伤

• When black death goes viral, it can trigger PTSD-like trauma (2016)
• The Psychological Toll of Racism: Recorded Live (Psych Central Podcast) (2020)
• Coping While Black: A Season of Traumatic News Takes A Psychological Toll (2015)
• The Psychology of American Racism [pdf] (2020)

Restorative Healing for Racial Trauma

• The Four Bodies: A Holistic Toolkit for Coping with Racial Trauma (2020)
• Dealing with Racial Trauma Through Meditation (17 minute guided meditation recording using mindfulness, 肯定, 和元爱的仁慈) (2018)
• 5 Self-Care Practices Black People Can Use While Coping with Trauma. The distress can be daunting, but don’t let it defeat you (2016)
• 'We Are Living in a Racism Pandemic,' Says APA President. High-profile racial incidents taking heavy 心理 toll (2020)

Police Brutality and Racial Trauma

• Police killings and Black mental health. Specialists from across the Penn community discuss the mental health impacts of Black people being subjected to videos of African Americans being killed by the police (2020)
• The Quiet Trauma of Watching Police Brutality on Our Screens (2020)
• Police Killings Have Harmed Mental 健康 in Black Communities, Study Finds (2018)/li>
• Racial Trauma is Real: The Impact of Police Shootings on African Americans (2016)
• How Videos of Police Brutality Traumatize African Americans and Undermine the 搜索 for Justice (2019)
• The hidden trauma of police killings. New research finds Black and Hispanic students living close to police-involved killings suffer substantial educational and 心理 damage (2020)

反种族主义和盟友关系

• Guide to Being an Anti-Racism Activist (2020)
• Advice for White Folks in the Wake of the Police Murder of a Black Person (2016)
• 5 Common Misconceptions About Black Lives Matter (2020)
• Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, 白色的盟友, 及旁观者[pdf] (2019)
• “不，我不好.谢谢你的关心. As protesters across the nation rise up against police violence and systemic racism in support of Black lives, there’s something white allies need to recognize. (2020)
• How to Decenter Yourself in Conversations With Members of Marginalized Communities