<P> Recipients of microaggressions may feel anger, frustration, or exhaustion . African - Americans have reported feeling under pressure to "represent" their group or to suppress their own cultural expression and "act white". Over time, the cumulative effect of microaggressions is thought by some to lead to diminished self - confidence and a poor self - image, and potentially also to mental - health problems such as depression, anxiety, and trauma . Many researchers have argued that microaggressions are actually more damaging than overt expressions of bigotry precisely because they are small and therefore often ignored or downplayed, leading the victim to feel self - doubt rather than justifiable anger, and isolation rather than support . There are studies suggesting that microaggressions can lead people of color to fear, distrust, and avoid relationships with white people . On the other hand, some people report that microaggressions have made them more resilient . Scholars have suggested that, although microaggressions "might seem minor", they are "so numerous that trying to function in such a setting is' like lifting a ton of feathers ."' </P> <P> Kenneth R. Thomas claimed in American Psychologist that recommendations inspired by microaggression theory, if "implemented, could have a chilling effect on free speech and on the willingness of White people, including some psychologists, to interact with people of color ." Sociologists Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning have written in the academic journal Comparative Sociology that the microaggression concept "fits into a larger class of conflict tactics in which the aggrieved seek to attract and mobilize the support of third parties" that sometimes involves "building a case for action by documenting, exaggerating, or even falsifying offenses". It has been argued that the concept of microaggressions is a symptom of the breakdown in civil discourse, that microaggressions are "yesterday's well - meaning faux pas", that it has become "unacceptable to question the reasonableness (let alone the sincerity) of someone's emotional state", making adjudication of alleged microaggressions like witch trials . </P> <P> In The Atlantic, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt expressed concern that the focus on microaggressions can actually cause more emotional trauma than the microaggressions themselves . They believe that self - policing one's thoughts or actions to avoid using microaggressions may cause emotional harm to an individual seeking to avoid becoming a microaggressor, as it shares some characteristics of pathological thinking . </P> <P> Allegations of microaggressions are particularly common among the relatively educated and affluent populations of American colleges and universities . Some scholars think that the environment of protectiveness, of which microaggression allegations are a part, prepares students "poorly for professional life, which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong". </P>

What does the author described as a kind of microaggression