Black students: The mental health impact of racialised experiences
This blog addresses some of the main issues that black LSBU students identified as affecting their mental health and contains practical advice for coping with these challenges.
LSBU OfS Black Students Mental Health Project Team
You might be at the start of your further education journey or maybe you’re in the second or third year. Perhaps you are a mature student starting on a change of career or adding to your existing qualifications. This may be an exciting time or a daunting one but the hope is you will enjoy your university experience and have many good memories to look back on. As a black student, however, it is also worth taking an honest look at the kinds of difficulties you might encounter whilst at university.
This blog aims to acknowledge some of the stressors black students may face and, by recognising their potential impact on your mental health, enable you to be better equipped to identify and manage them. Developed with input from a psychotherapist, this resource addresses some of the main issues that London South Bank University (LSBU) students identified as affecting their mental health and contains practical advice for coping with these challenges.
Being a black student in an academic setting can come with its own unique set of challenges. Some of these challenges we encounter in the wider society (e.g. racism, stereotyping, prejudice and/or microaggressions); some are encountered specifically as a black student in the academic world (e.g. cultural conflicts with academic texts, under-representation in teaching staff and lack of academic and social support).
Very often, these racialised experiences are dismissed, ignored or denied. But the impact of these racialised encounters can increase a black student’s vulnerability to mental health difficulties and can contribute to depression, anxiety, anger, withdrawal, physical illness, substance misuse and even psychosis.
The opportunity to express your experience of the world is crucial to positive mental functioning but seeking mental health support is difficult for many black people. Without an opportunity to express your experience, pressure builds which can cause anxiety, isolation and a feeling of suffering in silence.
The history of slavery and colonialism and the internalised historical narrative of black people being strong supports the notion that mental health difficulties are a form of weakness. Today, the dynamics of race and the remnants of those traumatic histories continue. Black people are often treated as not having emotions and vulnerabilities in interactions with police or mental health services. Therefore their interactions with both the police and mental health services may be problematic and can lead to mistrust in these services.
In terms of routes to treatment for mental and emotional problems, black people are almost five times as likely as white people to be detained under the Mental Health Act. The stigma around mental health in black communities and mistrust of support services offered by white institutions are key factors in mental health problems not being recognised or supported early enough. But racial discrimination also has an impact – as the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act notes, "structural factors which engender racism, stigma and stereotyping increase the risk of differential experiences [of mental health care] in ethnic minority communities".
The need for a range of culturally appropriate avenues and treatments for mental ill health plays a role in countering black people’s resistance to finding support. In the black community, faith-based practices offer some black students support and strength during their studies. Seeing difficult experiences through this lens can help immensely and be a great source of comfort, resilience and self-worth. However, it should also be noted that these are not available to people who do not share the same faith and can be difficult to access. Also, in some instances, faith-based institutions can become a place of anxiety for some people and can create conditions that make a person feel less secure sharing their concerns about their mental health.
Mental health is often framed negatively in a way that involves professionals or medication when things get to a crisis stage. But we all have mental health and everyone’s mental health is on a scale between positive and negative mental functioning. It is important to recognise that prevention is better than cure and there are many things that you, as a black student, can do to protect and manage your mental health.
What will I get out of this blog?
This guidance is not ‘one size fits all’. Treating mental ill health can be complex because everyone is unique, with different combinations of experiences, environments and difficulties that might impact their wellbeing and, in more serious instances, lead to mental health conditions or disorders.
This blog is also not a replacement for specific and specialist assistance. It offers support by acknowledging difficult experiences that black students may encounter during their studies and contains two broad sections relating to the racialised experience of black students.
The first section explores factors that contribute to a racialised experience that can impact your sense of yourself. The second section focuses on how these racialised experiences can affect how you relate to your environment.
Throughout this blog, there are suggestions of positive practices to help you better manage your mental health.
1. My sense of self
There are many factors that can contribute to a racialised experience that can impact your sense of self.
In addition to culture and our individual experiences, our identities are influenced by societal labels. These labels are largely informed from the perspective of the dominant culture in a society. When oversimplified ideas and notions about ‘others’ go unchallenged, they become stereotypes and can define expectations of the ‘other’ group.
These expectations can be harmful and limit the unique attributes, opportunities and potential of members of the ‘other’ group. Without an awareness of the power of societal labels and stereotypes, an individual can internalise these false ideas and expectations and might accept the dominant culture's perspective of who they should be and how they should act.
For centuries, representations of black men and women have been narrowed to stereotypes that deny the diversity of black people. These representations derive from falsehoods created to justify slavery and colonialism by diverting attention away from the aggression that black people encountered daily. Today, stereotyped representations of being strong, sexual and savage – the angry black woman or the aggressive black male – maintain the belief that black people are to be feared.
Damaging racial stereotypes also present black people as having low intelligence. The dominance of these representations can then limit the potential of black people and cause a collective internalisation of stereotypes (e.g. hyper-masculinity which deters many black men from showing emotion and seeking support and results in them suffering in silence).
Internalised racist stereotypes can also affect how black people feel about pursuing academic learning or narrow their perspective of what it means to be black. It can cause them to feel conflicted or question their identity as a black person and ultimately how they feel about themselves.
Positive mental health practices
- Embrace your uniqueness – black people are multifaceted and there are many different experiences to what it means to be black.
- Find your tribe – there will be other black people who share things in common with you. Perhaps you could join a virtual or in-person black group where you can find a safe space to share your experiences?
- Look for positive representations of yourself in your area of study or a similar area of study.
Every student is unique and has multiple identities that exist at once. These overlapping social identities or ‘intersections’ suggest a wide variety of identity combinations, which creates an interesting student community. For some black students, however, this can mean that they face double discrimination. Black students with disabilities, those who identify as LGBTQ+ and international students are just three examples of black students with intersectional experiences.
Being a black disabled student is an extremely different and more difficult experience than that of their peers, disabled or otherwise. It can mean experiencing more discrimination and stigma and, as a student with visible or invisible disabilities, inadequate support or resourcing may affect your ability to participate, resulting in a feeling of exclusion.
As a black disabled student, this may heighten your experience of racial discrimination. You may also feel unseen by other students and staff, black or otherwise. These encounters can result in a feeling of isolation, impact your self-esteem and cause you to withdraw.
If your disability is invisible, symptoms can often be misinterpreted and seen through the lens of racial stereotypes. For example, the difficulty with sitting still for someone with ADHD is more easily interpreted as expected disruptive behaviour. As a result, black students with invisible disabilities can suffer higher levels of disciplinary action from the university whilst studying.
Positive mental health practices
- Self-disclose as soon as possible.You may feel unsure about this but if you do, it will help your lecturers and the course team to understand your needs.
- Explain your needs to disability services and learn what resources are available for you.
- Find a community that understands and supports you (this could be either inside or outside university).
- Ask disability services to liaise with your tutor to find the best support for you.
- If you suspect that you have an invisible disability, go to student services for support.
There are many distinct identities within the LGBTQ+ community (e.g. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or sometimes questioning, other). As a black student from the LGBTQ+ community, you may encounter marginalisation and discrimination for being black and LGBTQ+. This can come from the wider university community but also from within the black community and the LGBTQ+ community.
As a black gay or lesbian student, homophobic remarks and language can make you feel unsafe and unaccepted in the black community whilst there can also be a lack of understanding and racist notions from non-black queer people, which can result in feeling victimised and socially excluded.
Depending on your intersectionality, access to the LGBTQ+ community can also be affected. As a black trans student, you may encounter racist notions about black people’s bodies alongside your gender expression not being accepted. When your full identity is not accepted, this can lead to interpersonal problems, isolation and depression.
Positive mental health practices
- Join a society or group specific to black LGBTQ+ students.
- Find allies to widen your community in the university.
- Find at least one supportive staff member who you can go to for support.
- Report experiences of harassment or victimisation to the university.
Fitting in with a new community in an unfamiliar city and country can be a culture shock and comes with immense stress. Language barriers and social cues may be difficult to understand which can affect your sense of belonging and lead to a feeling of isolation and alienation.
As a black international student, you may have an entirely different student experience to your peers. In addition to the culture shock and xenophobia that might be experienced by non-black international students, black students may also experience additional forms of discrimination and racism. If English is not your first language, difficulty with language can play into existing black stereotypes of low intelligence. As a result, encounters with racial prejudice on your course can make you doubt your intelligence.
Microaggressions and discrimination within the university and outside it (e.g. from private landlords) can also affect your sense of safety and security. These encounters can isolate you and increase feelings of vulnerability leading you to miss the familiarity of your home country and might even cause you to leave your course.
Alongside this, your cultural upbringing can be very different and you may even feel alienated from black British students. A lack of social circles, which can be further affected by your eligibility to work, can lead to additional feelings of loneliness and social isolation. In addition, as a black international student, it might be more difficult or uncomfortable for you to talk about your mental health because you come from a culture where it is seen as private or taboo and your family has expectations of you to perform well.
Positive mental health practices
- Speak your language when you get the opportunity (if English is not your first language) as this can help to alleviate feelings of isolation and reinforce your identity.
- Use free communication apps to keep in touch with your friends and family at home. Stay connected and take them on your journey with you.
- Find a home away from home by researching groups that reflect and share similar cultural identities.
- Have interests and hobbies outside of your studies (e.g. sport, arts and cooking).
2. My sense of self around others
Being part of a university community can be rich and exciting. But while some people’s experience of student life is a socially fulfilling and rewarding one, others may face difficulties. For some black students, these difficulties can affect their sense of belonging, their participation and their motivation to learn.
Explicit or less obvious racist encounters that take place on the university campus will negatively impact a black student’s sense of belonging. You may feel difficulty in relating to your white peers and, in some instances, you may feel avoided. Being made aware of your difference promotes a feeling of marginalisation rather than belonging. This lack of relatedness to those around you can influence your motivations and your belief in yourself.
Positive mental health practices
- Look for societies or communities in the university that meet your needs and speak to you. Being around people like you will help you reinforce who you are.
- Find touch points in the university community where you can express yourself by getting involved.
- If you feel that you are experiencing racial discrimination, there is always someone who can advocate for you. Check in with your student union and try to express this as effectively as you can.
You may be attending a course with other black students studying alongside you, some of whom might share your perspective and have insight into your experience. However, there are courses where you may be the only black person or one of very few.
Learning material in UK universities is still in need of decolonisation. Because of the exclusion of black academics’ contribution to knowledge, learning from this material can make you feel a sense of not belonging in academic spaces.
Whilst academic learning requires an element of code-switching or adjusting your style of speech, often black students experience low satisfaction with the course material because it doesn't relate to them. Some of the course materials may be racist and, in situations where you find yourself to be the only person having that experience in the seminar, it will feel isolating. This can leave you to doubt your responses to the teaching material and can feed into a feeling of being less than your white counterparts.
Underrepresentation can also contribute to prejudiced notions from some white peers and lecturers that black people have a lower intellectual ability. This can be exhausting and can trigger an imposter syndrome where you feel like you do not deserve to be on the course.
In addition to the underrepresentation in the course material, the underrepresentation of lecturers in your course can make it difficult to express your experience of racism. A build-up of these encounters can lead to depression, anxiety, frustration and upset and ultimately discourage you from participating and continuing with your learning.
Positive mental health practices
- Remember that you deserve to be heard. Your perspective can enrich the learning of others.
- Look for staff and other people who may have experienced the academic world to enhance your learning as a black student.
- Think of learning academic language (code-switching) as a tool for getting your point across in an academic setting. Recognise it as separate from social language.
- Make suggestions to your tutor or course team as to how they can make reading material more relevant.
- Steer your work and research toward what you are interested in and that is relevant to you.
- Fill out a complaint form if you feel that you have been marked down because of your perspective.
In many settings, including university, you will encounter racial prejudice. Prejudicial notions shared in academia can often be presented as fact.
As a black student, challenging these notions can be difficult as it might be reframed as you being disruptive and aggressive. Your perspective is not being listened to and you are seen through a stereotyped notion of black people. This generates a gaslighting effect where the other person/people are so oblivious to your reality that you doubt yourself. This then leaves you feeling isolated, unsettled and exhausted and can make you censor yourself in academic spaces as it is easier to be seen as agreeable rather than disruptive by your peers and lecturers.
Practising silence to be successful at university can have an impact on your mental health. It can lead to you doubting your abilities and make you feel like you don’t belong.
Positive mental health practices
- Take up space – your voice deserves to be heard. Bring your whole self to your course and be proud of your difference and the unique perspective that you have to offer.
- Work on developing your voice. Try finding sources outside of your reading list to bring a different perspective to your subject. This will also help you develop your perspective.
- Use opportunities to comment on your course material and learning experience to affect change.
For many, university is a life-changing experience and friends, family and community can be a source of encouragement and support throughout this time. In some cases, however, these changes can have an impact on your relationship with your family or friends.
You might be the first person to go to university in your family or friendship group. As you develop in your field of study and broaden your experiences and ideas, it can make you feel conflicted and question whether you are becoming different from those people closest to you. Also, as you grow and learn, some members of your family or friends may experience the changes in you as negative or not understand them, which can make you question yourself and doubt your identity and your choices. When family and friends do not relate to what you are experiencing in university and they are unsupportive, this can also have an impact on your wellbeing.
High expectations (e.g. because you are from a family of high achievers or because you are the first of your family or friends to go to university) can also burden you with a huge amount of pressure. It can throw up feelings of guilt and shame when you feel you are not meeting their expectations and prevent you from taking time to relax or socialise. In the black community, it is widely understood that you will have to work twice as hard as your white counterparts because of racial bias. However, without self-care, these pressures can become overwhelming, affect your motivation and impact your mental health.
Positive mental health practices
- Try to keep connected to family and friends and take them on the journey with you.
- Remember that there are people who you can identify with and who want you to succeed.
- Take time to create new networks and take part in activities that you enjoy outside your direct learning (e.g. social events and exercise).
- Empower yourself through your community. Stay present and relate to what is real to you.
- Take some time for yourself and practice self-care. This can be whatever appeals to you – exercise, meditation, cleaning, reading, watching TV, listening to music, sleeping, walking, etc.
In the UK, white household incomes are, on average, 63% higher than black household incomes. This inequality causes many black students to experience greater financial pressures and they have to balance the conflicting demands of bringing in sufficient income alongside meeting the requirements to pass the course. A black student's experience of university can therefore be quite different from their white counterparts.
You may be living in a family home and have dependents (e.g. a child, parent or relative) or younger siblings living with you who are not aware of the demands of your course. In these situations, the environment at home can be distracting and not ideal for study. There can also be cultural expectations to contribute to the running of the home (e.g. cooking dinner, shopping, cleaning, looking after siblings or a relative). These additional responsibilities are often culturally significant for black students but might not be understood as impacting your ability to focus on study. It can feel difficult when trying to explain this to a white lecturer who doesn't have this cultural point of reference and can make you feel as though you are inadequate.
Positive mental health practices
- Check in with your university to see if it offers a time management course – this could help you not only in your studies but in your life after university.
- Look out for scholarships specifically for black students. Identifying your heritage in university will help with exposure to any scholarship programmes available to you.
- Find out if your university offers a mentoring programme.
Social media can have many benefits. It can help you to develop better social skills and stay connected, feel less isolated, broaden your knowledge of societal ideas and issues outside of your immediate social group, share your ideas with friends and have fun. But social media can also have negative impacts.
There has been an increase in racially discriminatory material on social media. A recent study showed that exposure to racial discrimination either directly or indirectly increases anxiety, depressive symptoms and substance and alcohol misuse in social media users. As a young black person, responding to racial discrimination can feel empowering but over-immersion in this material can have the opposite effect and may increase anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Positive mental health practices
- Manage when and where you use social media.
- Be mindful that your self-validation is not caught up in social media.
- Take social media breaks for a day or more. This will help you to manage your use and avoid getting too absorbed online.
- Recognise the things that upset you or trigger insecurities and curate your feed to help you avoid them.
Useful Resources
- Black Minds Matter UK - charity organisation connecting black individuals and families with free mental health services
- Black River Counselling – culturally specific short-term counselling for black people by black counsellors and psychotherapists in Lambeth and Southwark
- Croydon BME Forum - provides mental health support to Croydon’s black and minority ethnic communities
- NHS Talking Therapies - free NHS psychological therapies to support people with common mental health problems like anxiety and depression
- The Empowerment Group (teg) - heavily subsidised online 1:1 culturally appropriate therapy for people of Black African and Caribbean heritage (please note that this is not a free service)
- The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network - the largest community of Counsellors and Psychotherapists of Black, African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage in the UK
A final word
We hope that this resource will help you as you navigate your way through some of the difficulties that black students can encounter whilst at university. Some sections might speak to you more than others. Some sections may not affect you now but could be something that comes up later in your university journey. For that reason, you might like to revisit this resource from time to time.