Thread by @CentreforMH, THREAD: We’ve been shocked and distressed by the death of George Floyd [...]

THREAD: We’ve been shocked and distressed by the death of George Floyd in the US, and we know many people in the UK are deeply affected by it too.

#GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter

We know that Black people in the UK live every day in the shadow of injustice and inequality, exemplified now with the higher risk of severe illness and dying from Covid-19
#Covid19UK

Daily experiences of racist aggression and discrimination take their toll on people’s mental health from childhood and throughout life.

(For more on this, see: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/against-the-odds
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/this-is-me )

We also know that Black people are at a greater risk of being brought to #MentalHealth services by the police, of being sectioned under the #MentalHealthAct and of being restrained while in hospital.

(For more on this, take a look at the Wessely Review https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-the-mental-health-act, or our 'Breaking the circles of fear' report, which is sadly still extremely relevant 18 years on: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/breaking_the_circles_of_fear.pdf)

Independent Review of the Mental Health Act

The review has now concluded.

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-the-mental-health-act

We need to take action now, at every level, to tackle racial injustice and inequality and their impacts on mental health.

For too long they have been ignored and overshadowed.

This is a great summary from @imTerenceLester on how racism causes trauma and mental ill-health: https://twitter.com/imTerenceLester/status/1266698785817792517