Many studies have shown that racism wears on the bodies and spirits of those who have been categorically and systematically oppressed. Living in a society where one is regarded as a second class citizen, as disposable labor, as a "terrorist" a "thug" or as undeserving of safety, support and joy is a significant and prolonged source of toxic stress for people of color that is difficult to escape in America. Toxic stress causes physiological changes in the body such as high cortisol levels and high blood pressure which lead to many other serious health conditions such as kidney disease. 

Racism similarly hurts those with more power and advantages.
Individuals with more relative social power are taught to tense up, be afraid, distrust, disregard others, and believe that some deserve life more than others- these impulses and ideas hurt us by shutting down our capacity for compassion. It hurts us to cope with this dissonance by numbing out.

Being Black, Brown, or White is inherently neutral but the ways some communities have used other communities is not neutral.

Olympia Community Acupuncture is dedicated to ending this destructive legacy. It can be done.