Britain has changed immensely over the last 100 years after a couple of wars and occasionally imposing itself on other countries. It seems to have adopted a different approach, an approach of integration and diversity.

Despite the various opinions on immigration, it is undeniable that British culture has changed immensely due to the increased migration of people from all over the world. About 14% of the UK population are ethnic minorities. This increased diversity is evident in British culture, for example, a curry, which is from the subcontinent, has become the national dish.

However, the issue is that despite Britain’s attempts to integrate and become diverse, many minorities are suffering as more emphasis is placed on minorities to integrate into society than on society. Despite many minorities desperately wanting to integrate into society, British society has barriers because it expects minorities to mirror it, which is impossible because of the colour of someone’s skin and head coverings some wear.

Although the constant mispronunciation of their names, unasked nicknames, and the weird staring can feel harmless, it shows that British society is not trying hard enough to enable minorities to integrate.

Nonetheless, minorities are still expected to try relentlessly to integrate. As minorities from a young age, they can identify the differences between themselves and their peers, making them question themselves.

Questioning why they are different can lead to self doubt and a desire to become like their peers, leading to a feeling of not belonging. Many minorities will go into British society and feel like they do not belong and face rejection. Then when trying to integrate into their own culture, they seem too British for it, therefore, unable to integrate and feel like a part of their culture.

This leads to an identity crisis. An identity crisis involves a person questioning their sense of self or place in the world. Minorities in Britain find themselves in crisis. Many ethnic minorities have experienced an identity crisis regarding how British they are despite being born in the UK, growing up in multicultural communities or having many generations living in the UK.

Due to an identity crisis, many minorities find themselves toning down their identities to navigate British society, which leads to a more significant identity crisis, as they do not tend to their other identities. For many, it is more about shaping their identities and worlds in a way that makes life easier for them.

Many ethnic minorities try to maintain and respect the values they have been taught growing up and integrated with British society, which leads to many becoming overwhelmed as it takes over many aspects of their lives. Individuals often mourn the identity they suppress to have a more dominant British identity which makes people of colour, especially have devastating effects,

The difficulty of navigating their identity makes people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds experience mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts, highlighting a more significant problem: many BME people do not seek help while suffering from ill mental health.

Statistics from Child Using Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Adult Mental Health Service (AMHS) evidence this as professionals often do not go out of their way to ask for help because many health professionals do not seem equipped to deal with minorities. Fundamentally, there is a silent mental health crisis in the BME community, and the root of this crisis is the identity crisis most minorities face.

The lack of the feeling that they belong and are being discriminated against is why many minorities have mental health issues, which are further silenced because professionals and mental health services seem unequipped and ignore minorities.

Overall, identity is significant within an individual, not just within ethnic minorities; however, ethnic minorities seem to be battling within, and this crisis of the identity is ignored as there is no acknowledgement of how difficult it is, which further results in a silent mental health crisis within the ethnic minorities.