Refugees

What is a refugee?

According the United Nations, a refugee is someone outside their country of origin who is "unable or unwilling" to return based on "a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion." In more plain words, it is someone who has had to flee their country due to war, violence, or persecution. 

We hear about refugees in the news a lot - Palestinians, Afghans, and Ukrainians are the few that have made recent news. Right now there are more refugees and displaced people than ever before -- about 108.4 million people at the end of 2022. It's a huge number and a lot of legal-sounding language, and it can be easy to let the mind glaze over at the scale of the issue. Refugees and their families often deal with immense loss and grief that can impact their mental health. And once they reach a safe place, they are often needing to learn a new language and culture, missing a home that may no longer really exist, and trying to navigate new expectations.

For those of us who are not directly impacted, the scale of the refugee crisis can also cause us to feel sad, overwhelmed, anxious, or helpless. Seeing images in the news of violence and destruction can trigger existing trauma. Even if you don't identify as highly-sensitive, your nervous system can perceive this news as a threat and react accordingly.

Therapy can help in either case! You are definitely not alone, and therapy can be a safe place to unpack your thoughts and feelings, make sense of them, and get some relief.