Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
Have you ever been treated unfairly and did not get a job or a project because of your gender, race, or age?
If you have, then you might have been a victim of discrimination. Discrimination is a horrible fact of life and we see examples around us every day. It is very easy to describe discrimination, but it is quite difficult to explain why it actually happens.
From a very young age we are taught the differences between people. Babies soon enough learn that there is a difference between boys and girls and depending on your background we are indirectly taught the differences between different races. How we feel about different races also has a lot to do with our values and beliefs. Most of our beliefs come from our parents, peers, and the way they act towards people from other races.
Most discrimination comes from fear and a lot of misunderstanding is involved. People tend to live in the past and cannot look past the fact that all people look different, but just because they look different doesn’t make them less of a person.
Discrimination has turned into a health issue, people who face discrimination experience a lot of stress and this is often accompanied by anxiety. Anxiety and stress can turn into depression and other negative effects like obesity or low self-esteem.
People who have never experienced any form of discrimination have lower stress levels.
Many people are bias towards certain races, but it depends on how you were brought up and your personal experiences. However not all people from certain races are the same.
Many people do not have a problem with race, but they do have issues with individuals that do not fall into their belief system like lesbians and gays.
Most people who have been victimized or discriminated against, tend to avoid certain situations where they can be targeted and miss out on many opportunities.
Although there are many laws against discrimination, discrimination still occurs frequently. It is such a sad world where people have to fight to be themselves just to fit in.
Major discrimination is a general occurrence, but it is the less minor type of discrimination that we don’t often hear about. Elderly people being treated without respect, women being treated unfairly in the workplace and someone that is made out to be less intelligent.
Even though we don’t hear about it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take place or invalidate their experiences.
Like previously said, discrimination can take its toll. It can have a real effect on your life and your outlook on things. To prevent this, it is necessary to find healthy ways to deal with discrimination for physical health and mental well-being.
Just a matter of not letting it get to you is not going to do the trick. If a person is constantly being told that they are not worth it, they will start to believe it at some point.
It is now where your beliefs, values and strengths come in very handy. If you have the strength to brush off all the negative things and focus on your strengths this should cancel out the negative feelings. If you learn to do this every time you are discriminated against it should help you to face these challenges better in the future.
Do not let anyone get the best of you. Make sure that you have a good support system and let them help you when you are in doubt. Many people have been through the same thing as you, and you should communicate with these people frequently as they have learned how to deal with these issues without letting it affect them.
You should be made aware constantly of what you are really worth and not let others affect you as a person. Nobody on earth is perfect and everyone has flaws, but your skin color, sex or age doesn’t make you any different from any other person.
Try not to doubt yourself too much. Stand your ground and believe in yourself. If you apply for a job and you don’t get the job, make sure why you didn’t get the job first. If they are indeed discriminating then you can say what you have to say, but if there is another valid reason, then you don’t have to make an issue about it. If everyone had a fair chance, then you might have just not been the best candidate.
Paranoia is also not going to bring discrimination to light, each and every action against someone is not necessarily discrimination. If you are not sure if you are being discriminated against, it might be a good idea to talk to someone about it. It could be very helpful to talk to a family member or a friend on how to handle these situations. They most probably have been through the same thing and can guide you through your feelings.
If your family members are not supportive you can get involved with organizations online or in person. These people will be able to support you because they have had similar experiences.
When you experience discrimination, it is important to be calm even though you might not feel calm. Make use of breathing exercises to calm your senses and your stress response. Having an outburst might make the whole situation worse than it really is. Rather step away and think about what happened.
If you have reason to speak out, do so when you are calm. If you just keep quiet, it might affect you negatively. Even if you don’t solve the issue, you will still feel better if you speak about it, and the person might see things from a different view.
In the end, we cannot stop discrimination, but we can change the way we act towards it. We need to talk about it openly and make people aware of what is happening.
