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Can Brexit drive you crazy? In any case, the incessant twists of recent months can exhaust psychologically. Europeans in particular are worried: uncertainty about their future rights as well as often hostile discourses on immigration generate stress and anxiety.
Feeling of rejection
Brexit is often compared to a slow train accident. On the one hand, because nobody sees the end, and on the other hand, because as painful as it is to look, we can not turn our eyes away. The United Kingdom has been debating the exit of the European Union for over three years now, with shattering statements and one of sensationalist newspapers. In this anxious atmosphere, the morale of Europeans took a hit: the stress of Brexit has settled.
A team of researchers from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen has looked into the problem by interviewing Europeans living in Scotland about their mental health since the campaign and the referendum that saw the British vote to leave the EU. According to researcher Piotr Teodorowski, Brexit has amplified some of the psychological problems already present in study participants. " There is too little support for the mental health of Europeans, " he regrets. " Some people turn to their doctor to talk about the anxiety and the trauma of the referendum. Some participants who already had sleep problems had to start meditating. "
The feeling of being rejected and of no longer being considered legitimate members of the community is a major cause of many Europeans' malaise. " To have good mental health, you have to be able and want to participate in the community, " says the researcher. " But since the result of the 2016 referendum provoked a feeling of exclusion among Europeans, because they perceived it as a vote against immigration, they had the impression that they could no longer take part to the community they considered theirs. "
In Feniks, an organization that provides psychological and other support to Central and Eastern Europeans in Edinburgh, it is a feeling that is regularly shared. Dorota Peszkowska, herself a Polish national, is one of them. She is working on a project proposed by Feniks and EU Citizens' Rights Project , to help those in need get their "settled status". " People have gone through the five stages of mourning, " she says, "one of the biggest being denial, and ultimately, acceptance."
Impossibility of planning your future
Sarah Lachhab did not escape. This thirty-something French woman has been living in Edinburgh for four years. After working for several years in the hospitality sector, she is now a tour guide and blogger. She finds that the atmosphere in the UK, especially in recent months, is stifling. " I feel the anxiety of people around me, and I'm often asked questions about what's going on, so I talk about it all the time, " she says. " I find myself watching the news constantly, and stressing because of the news ... This is not my usual behavior. The first thing I watch in the morning when I get up is the news. I'm scared, especially since Boris Johnson is in power, "she says.
For those who are in a relationship with European nationals, it is impossible to avoid this tension. This is the case of Andrew Fournet, a French-Scottish analyst living in Edinburgh for 14 years, married to a Polish woman. If he has a British passport and will not have to ask for the right to stay in the UK after Brexit, his wife, like all other Europeans, will have to apply for the famous EU Settlement Scheme . " We're waiting for the last minute to do it, " he explains. " We have questions about the data that we pass on to the government in this process. There is no transparency about what they will do with it. I do not want to become targets in the future, if everything goes wrong when we leave the EU, and people start to point out European immigrants. It's a problem, because we can not plan our future. "
Scotland always welcoming for Europeans
However, Scotland is a special case. Researchers at the University of Birmingham have shown that European citizens feel more accepted and safe here than in the rest of the UK. One reason for this is that all regions of Scotland, without exception, voted to stay in the EU. In Edinburgh, 80% of voters voted for Remain in 2016. In addition, the Scottish government has, from the day after the referendum, done everything to reassure Europeans in Scotland. Dorota Peszkowska has personally experienced this. " When I go to visit my fiance's family in England, I feel like a change of temperature on the train, with passengers reading the Daily Mail (a Europhobe newspaper), " she says. "I'm afraid people hear my accent when I speak."
How not to be overwhelmed by anxiety as we approach the fateful date of October 31? For Piotr Teodorowski, it is undoubtedly solidarity that will make all the difference. " A participant in the study told us that a neighbor had come to see her the day after the referendum with a bottle of wine, and she told him : I want you to know that you are welcome here. This kind of message is very important for any immigrant . "