ABC11 Conversation on Racism, Hate and Mental Health

We know racism can take a toll on your mental health, ABC11's Joel Brown dives deeper into the long-lasting impact hate has on us.

Panelists included Coach LeVelle Moton from NCCU Basketball, Veronica Aguilar of El Pueblo, Dr. Deborah Stroman from the Racial Equity Institute, Cenayia Edwards, a teen who uncovered a racist group chat at WCPSS, as well as her mother and Rebby Kern, Education Policy Director for Equality NC.

Watch on abc11.com or stream it with the ABC11 North Carolina app on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or Roku.

Ways to cope with racialized trauma

"It doesn't have to always be this thing that happens to you that defines who you are in a negative way. It can be an opportunity to grow from it to help others."

WakeMed Behavioral Health Medical Director Dr. Nerissa Price spoke to ABC following the town health to discuss ways to cope with racialized trauma -- the psychological distress experienced by someone in a marginalized community after a racial incident or simply seeing someone else go through it.

"It can be quite damaging," Price said. "After witnessing or experiencing racialized trauma, you can become angry, become anxious, not feeling safe anymore because of their racial-ethnic identity."

Price says a key to coping with the trauma is for the person to feel validated; to feel safe; to verbalize what they're feeling to someone they don't have to convince. She suggests talking to a therapist, but first, ask if they specialize in racial trauma. She also suggests breaking out of the isolation by finding a creative outlet to make the experience more meaningful: writing about it or composing a song.

"It doesn't have to always be this thing that happens to you that defines who you are in a negative way," Price says. "It can be an opportunity to grow from it to help others.