The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective

People fleeing war and violence often face complex asylum procedures in host countries which have been described as ‘exhausting by design’. This study explored service providers’ perspectives on how the UK asylum process gives rise to exhaustion, and the ways in which exhaustion affects the mental health of people seeking asylum. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals providing social, legal, medical or mental health services to people seeking asylum in the UK. Results demonstrate that the UK asylum process seemingly exhausts those seeking asylum through the intersection of policies and practices that create conditions of hostility, discrimination and deprivation. The resultant exhaustion contributes to, and is exacerbated by, poor mental health, creating a vicious cycle of psychological harm. Based on these findings, we argue that the ‘politics of exhaustion’ embedded within the UK asylum process is a form of structural violence that harms mental health and wellbeing by fundamentally undermining the resilience of people seeking asylum to cope with continued adversity in the UK. • A structurally violent politics of exhaustion is embedded in the UK asylum process. • Deprived conditions, processing delays and chronic disbelief are exhausting. • The process undermines individual resilience, self-esteem and hope for the future. • An exhausting asylum process contributes to, and exacerbates, poor mental health. • A just asylum process should promote safety, wellbeing and integration.