Blacks pay physical price for stress of discrimination
Stress for Success
February 22, 2011


Imagine frequently:
· being followed by store employees who suspect you of stealing;
· being excluded at work;
· feeling like you have to prove yourself again;

Perceiving these and other racial stressors often, month after month, qualifies them as chronic stress making you vulnerable to illness and disease development. The stress will eventually take a toll on you emotionally and physically.

February is Black History Month, a good time to consider the on-going psychological affronts that many African-Americans still encounter, especially in their public lives of working and shopping, and especially in low income inner-cities.

At the other end of the African-American stress continuum is the stress experienced by more educated and accomplished blacks:
· 93% of African-American female college students admit to feeling like an imposter when they succeed at something;

Some of their stress comes from them:
· Feeling like “pioneers,” paving the way for more black achievement;
· Buying into society’s historic stereotypes of African-Americans being less competent;
· Being female since females of any race often ascribe success to outside reasons versus their own efforts;

Regardless of the source of racial stress, the negative consequences can mount.

National Institute of Health
‘;(NIH) research “… links excess prevalence and severity of hypertension among African-Americans to chronic and disproportionately intense societal stress." This partly explains why, when compared to all other racial/ethnic groups in America, blacks have the highest incidence of:
· Diabetes;
· Cardio-vascular heart disease;
· Hypertension and stroke;

“This is not to say that all African-Americans have poor health,” said researcher Vickie Mays, UCLA professor of psychology and health services. “However, African-Americans – as a group – have not gained as much ground (in health improvement) as other ethnic groups.”
When stress to the cardiovascular system is chronic to the point of allostatic load, the cumulative wear and tear of stress on the body, the immune system is suppressed, blood pressure increases and, over time, atherosclerosis can develop, resulting in coronary vascular disease. The chronic stress response is also associated with other diseases and obesity. (www.MinorityHealthDisparities.org.)

Heart disease is largely a preventable condition. Stress reduction strategies, including lifestyle changes, not only prevent heart disease and hypertension, they may even reverse some damage. NIH funded trials found meditation was 2 ½ times more effective in reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure than typical relaxation. It’s a significantly healthier way to reduce blood pressure since it has no adverse reactions and costs nothing compared to standard drug treatment.

The health protections these strategies offer are only part of the pay off. Equally important is that from practicing healthy habits and experiencing their subsequent positive results you gain a greater sense of personal control, which lowers your daily stress level, enhancing your health improvements even more.

To reduce your stress, put your energy into controlling what you can, which largely excludes societal racial stereotyping. Instead, make lifestyle changes to protect yourself from the physical ravages of stress. How can you improve your daily habits of exercise, nutrition and meditation?

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., is an international speaker and a Stress and Wellness Coach. Order her book, Let Your Body Win: Stress Management Plain & Simple, at http://www.letyourbodywin.com/bookstore.html. Email her to request she speak to your organization at jferg8@aol.com.