'I didn’t know where to go': Refugee men want change on the 'taboo' conversation on trauma and mental health

Majed Al Hanooch came to Melbourne as a refugee in late 2017 at the age of 16. It was “not easy” for him as he had to leave parts of his culture in Iraq because his family needed to find safety. 

He comes from a Christian family and if they stayed in their home country they could suffer religious persecution from ISIS. 

“I was kind of young but old at the same time,” he said. “I just got used to it”.

Mr Al Hanooch is now in his first year of university studying computer science. But he has experienced depression and anxiety since coming to Australia and lockdown has not helped.

There have been times where he thought about suicide.

He has a mindset of “getting used to it” or “pushing through” instead of seeing a psychologist or reaching out to friends about his wellbeing.

He said he knows this is not the right way to approach things, but it is how he grew up and how it is like for older men in his community.

“Just laugh it off, come on you are a man, just man up,” he said he often hears.

According to the latest data by the ABS from June 2021, one in five (20 per cent) Australians experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress. More than half of refugees in Australia are living with mental illness, with up to a third suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Experts say refugee men are more vulnerable.

‘No one called us’ about mental health

While there is a stigma, men like Oshy Yalda, 30, say he has not been reached out about mental health.

Dr Yalda arrived in Melbourne as a refugee in May this year. Since coming to Australia, he has spent most of his time at home in lockdown. He said he has lacked mental health support from health professionals since arriving in Australia. 

“No one called us to talk about our mental health, not even the doctors, not even the GPs here,” Dr Yalda said.

“There’s not enough support,” he said.

“As part of the Immigration Medical Examination for all refugees, a mental health screening examination is undertaken to identify any mental health conditions or history,” said a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs.

But Dr Yalda said he did not receive a mental health screening when arriving. 

Mr Jirjees said he did not get help because he “didn’t know where to go”.  

“The main issue with men is actually how to get started, to get started is very, very difficult.”

Refugees can be impacted in various ways with some more “severe” than others. From trauma, they can experience issues like PTSD, anxiety, difficulties sleeping and concentration issues. 

Mr Aroche said the COVID-19 restrictions may remind some refugees of distressing experiences before entering Australia like “long queues, empty streets, additional police, helicopters hovering around”.

These can be reminders of conflict back in their home country, war or other situations refugees have experienced. 

“Some can take it in stride, but for others who are more vulnerable, it can trigger intrusive memories and trigger reactions, which can make them more anxious,” Mr Aroche said.

It can make people “stand out” which can make it difficult for people to reach out according to Kaye Graves, the senior leader for refugee and cultural diversity programs at Bendigo Community Health in Victoria.

Ms Graves said some refugees may have “no concept of mental health”.

“To describe how you feel to someone that is new to you is very difficult, that trust has to be built,” she said.

She said there are “covert mental health issues”, which create additional barriers to engage men into her services.

But she aims to tackle this in a casual way to open up the doors to conversations. 

“Food, trusted environments, credible people, over weeks or months to build the trust and engagement is the way to stop this,” she said.

Mr Aroche of STARTTS said COVID-19 is making it more difficult to reach out to young men who are at a critical stage of development with stigma in the way.

“They have not been able to learn the skills to communicate with other people in a peaceful situation…or learn to express their attraction to people,” he said.

Mr Aroche said we “need to put more money” into working with young men in and outside school settings as they are “particularly vulnerable”.

As a young man, Mr Al-Hanooch wants current and future generations to change the mindset on mental health in the Arab and refugee community.

“We say only psychotic people go to see a psychologist,” he said.  But he understands this mindset and language can be harmful and stigmatic.

“We should really just get used to new habits, instead of the bad habits we lived before, this way we can actually help others,” Mr Al Hanooch said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health said “any refugees feeling in need of mental health support at this time are encouraged to contact Foundation House, Cabrini Health, Monash Health or the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre which all provide specialist mental health support for people from refugee backgrounds.”

“The pandemic has shown now more than ever, we can’t lose sight of what matters most and that is the health and wellbeing of every Victorian - including Victorians from refugee backgrounds.”