Racism & Mental Health

Is racism a mental health issue? Is it a symptom of a disorder? How does the field of psychiatry deal with issues of culture and race in general?

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We talked with Aaron Krasner about Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and the mental health field in general. He is a psychiatrist, and an expert on emerging personality disorders in adolescents, among (many) other things.

[Whathuh]

It's not paranoia if they're trying to get you...finally someone said it

[doontz]

Wow. That last sentence. It's not paranoia if they're actually trying to get you!
Thank you!
That need to be heard!

[MzShonuff]

While he means well, there’s some wrong in some of what he’s saying. He said being in a homogeneous Black neighborhood keeps Black people from knowing the other but that’s the thing about whiteness: we have to learn it no matter what our zip code is. That’s how oppression works. There’s no place you can live/run to where it can be escaped.

[cherylmoschitto_outwardsilence]

Misdiagnosis of schizophrenia or paranoid: When treating Black/African American clients, clinicians tend to overemphasize the relevance of psychotic symptoms and overlook symptoms of major depression compared to when they are treating clients with other racial or ethnic backgrounds.For this reason, Black men in particular are greatly over-diagnosed with schizophrenia—they  are four times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than their white male counterparts.Furthermore, Black people in general are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia alone when a mood disorder is also present than white people. Schizophrenia is a disorder that (by definition) must be diagnosed by exclusion, meaning that the symptoms of it can’t be explained by another psychiatric disorder (like a mood disorder). Therefore, the fact that Black people end up with schizophrenia diagnoses without a mood disorder diagnosis despite the clinical presence of a mood disorder means that these symptoms are being ignored, and explains in large part why the diagnosis rate of schizophrenia is so much higher in Black populations than white.

[cherylmoschitto_outwardsilence]

People of color and all those whose lives have been marginalized by those in power experience life differently from those whose lives have not been devalued. They experience overt racism and bigotry far too often, which leads to a mental health burden that is deeper than what others may face.   

Racism is a mental health issue because racism causes trauma. And trauma paints a direct line to mental illnesses, which need to be taken seriously.

Past trauma is prominently mentioned as the reason that people experience serious mental health conditions today.[1] But obvious forms of racism and bigotry are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to racial trauma.

Every day, people of color experience far more subtle traumas:Types Of Racism[2]

Racism: A broad term describing the combination of race-based prejudice and power. Without the power differential (one person/group/institution has more power than another), “racism” is just prejudice and carries less weight and fewer consequences.

Systemic/Structural Racism: Systemic/Structural racism has three components: history, culture, and institutions/policy. Historical racism provides the framework for current racism. Any structure built on a foundation (history) of racism will be a racist structure. Culture, which is ever-present in our day to day lives is what allows racism to be accepted, normalized, and perpetuated. Institutions and policies make up the fundamental relationships and rules across society, which reinforces racism and give it societal legitimacy (which makes it so hard to dismantle).

[ConsultoriacomMarceloNudel]

BPD doesn’t cause racism. If you are a racist, you are a racist. No excuses

[lynnroberts]

As therapists I suggest it is our responsibility to acknowledge the Hustle Environment as real .

[imchef]

wow did that last sentence smack you in the face or what.

[BraithwaiteB]

hearing him put on a fake spanish accent to say that name is so insanely phony it made his response to the questions unsurprising. the fact that he spouts diversity lines but isolates himself and his family from the pitfalls of diversity tells you all you need to know

[hafidabarkan]

What are the emotional and the behavioral changes that Borderline person might cause to an intimate "healthy partner" ? Is it the same as Narcissist's victims when they shift into Narcissistic traits and become their abusers ? cause as I thought of it ... dating a Borderline, especially at the end of a relationship, when he sees abandonment as a fate ? he shifts into Secondary Psychopathy .So I think It's a post traumatic experience for a "healthy person " to have a Borderline as an intimate partner .
What are your thoughts about this ?

[lizabeth]

"It's a BUMMER man..." LOL!

[nickicee]

I feel like this guy would come over to my house and put his feet up on my dining room table. His disrespect oozes out his posture and completely voids everything he says. He seems to have good things to say but I can't even hear him due to his presentation.

[ChrisKadaver]

I think racism is a really interesting concept. Trying to categorize and narrow down something that actually is a much broader self preservation mechanism that is built into all of us. Also that people think they can determine whos racist or not, when we all probably are in a sense. I see racism as something more of a dynamically changing continuum depending of situations.
You don't believe me? Well... What do you think about talibans marrying 9 year olds? You think that's wrong? That they're disgusting? Well, then you're a racist. :)


If we were to get rid of all racism we would probably also get rid of all the healthy self preservation mechanism that enable us to set boundries. Racism is just tolerans vs intolerans. Total tolerance is self destructive and you'll also start acting enabler for others destructiveness. And total tolerance whats needed to get rid of all racism.