Mental health tips for BIPOC, diasporic, immigrant communities
Though I'm not a mental health professional, I’ve experienced life firsthand as a Palestinian who grew up in the diaspora. I’ve experienced how Western mental health often overlooks the real-life, systematic and both past and present experiences and challenges faced by BIPOC, immigrant and refugee communities. This one-dimensional framework has led to disconnection, alienation, and division within communities and families, making it harder for individuals, particularly in their youth and adolescence, to navigate and understand their identity and sense of belonging.
These impacts manifest across all aspects of an individual’s experience: personally, socially, professionally, and in relationships. Our experience differs greatly from our counterparts.
Bridging this gap means actively demanding and shaping the inclusion of BIPOC individuals, groups, and communities, not just by participating in, but by leading mental health conversations and community initiatives. This involves engaging in discussions that unpack the layers of daily experiences and the global forces that shape our lives today. It also means fully acknowledging the intergenerational effects of colonisation, displacement, relocation, and the chronic realities of today, continuing to cause profound loss and grief. The disruption of our collective development and connection to our homelands is not an isolated experience; it remains present and active in contemporary society. These experiences directly affect mental health, stability, and security at personal, social, economic, communal, and systemic levels.
With that, mental health isn't one-size-fits-all. BIPOC, immigrant, and diasporic communities face unique challenges from cultural stigma to intergenerational trauma that call for support rooted in understanding and representation. Take what you need from these mental health tips created with your experiences in mind.
Tip 1 – Seek a BIPOC-qualified therapist or psychologist. Find someone who understands your lived experience and background, without the need to over-explain your culture or identity.
Tip 2 – Look for spaces built by us and for us. Healing is collective, creative, and community-driven.
Naarm (Melbourne) & Gadigal (Sydney) spaces include:
Tip 3 – Connect with BIPOC friends There’s nothing more healing than connecting with people who just get it. No code-switching, no over-explaining, just real, authentic, cultural connection.
Tip 4 – Manage your social media use. No guilt here, we’re all online. But you can choose how to:
limit platform usage and account/s activity
unfollow or mute draining content
There is no shame in this. There are alternative ways to stay informed other than exposing your psyche to distressing content.
take breaks or deactivate when needed
Long live Palestine. All eyes on Gaza. Hands of the West Bank. Hands off Gaza. Hands off Lebanon, Syria, Congo, Sudan, every oppressed state.
You’re always welcome to reach out at bdivinenz@gmail.com.
