When the System Is the Stressor: How Oppression Impacts Mental Health
Sometimes it’s not your coping skills. It’s not your “mindset.” It’s not that you need to meditate harder. Sometimes the system is the stressor. We live in a society shaped by structural racism, economic inequality, sexism, environmental injustice, and institutional stigma. These are not abstract academic terms. They are daily lived experiences. And they get under your skin. Literally. When you are navigating chronic discrimination, unstable housing, crushing debt, inaccessible healthcare, or constant microaggressions, your nervous system does not interpret that as “social theory.” It interprets it as threat. And chronic threat changes the brain and body. Chronic Stress Is Not a Personal Failure Structural racism creates racial trauma and hypervigilance. Poverty creates relentless uncertainty about survival. Sexism and gender-based violence create fear and erosion of safety. Environmental instability keeps families in survival mode. This isn’t random. These systems are interconnected. ...
