LGBTQA Mental Health ; people have higher rates of of depression, anxiety & disorder

 

LGBTQA Mental Health ; people have higher rates of of depression, anxiety & disorder

                                                    

Mental health can be an ignored part of being healthy. But it is one of the most important parts. It drives much of our day-to-day life. Having a bad mental health day can impact a lot, including making it harder to get things done. It can be as simple as not running an errand. Or it can be more impactful, like not showing up for work.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) community face these challenges just like everyone else. But they may experience even more hurdles to caring for their mental health. This is usually related to prejudices that exist today.

LGBTQ individuals are more likely to experience a mental illness such as depression or anxiety. And the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses can keep people from seeking help

The Mental Health Intelligence Network is actively looking at how this data can be visualized as it becomes available.

Responding to mental health challenges is not something that can be achieved by any specific part of the system in isolation. Working together at both national and local level between the public, private, the third sector and most importantly the LGBT community itself, there is potential to support better mental health and wellbeing improve the lives of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people of all ages.

 

Anxiety and Depression for Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People

Somewhere between 30 and 60 percent of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, or transgender people deal with anxiety and depression at some point in their lives. That rate is 1.5 to 2.5 times higher than that of their straight or gender-conforming counterparts. It’s a strikingly high number, and it raises a lot of questions. While the full answer is undoubtedly complicated as to why you or your LGBTQ loved ones are more apt to struggle with anxiety or depression, here’s where context is key to understanding it for yourself.

It’s about Context

If you’re LGBTQ, I’d wager a bet that you’re good at reading a situation to determine how much you can safely be yourself. This skill, while adaptive, comes at a cost because it was developed in response to being subjected to high levels of persistent prejudice and discrimination.

For example, just ask any teenager who’s attracted to people of the same sex (or think back to your own experiences), and you’ll hear (or remember) vivid examples of the fear, shame, and ridicule that lead to learning how to read a situation. Being highly attuned to context as a lesbian, gay man, bisexual, or transgender person shapes your inner world, too. It affects how you think and feel about yourself. In response to an outside world full of negative messages about what it means to be attracted to people of the same sex or not cisgender, many people come to view themselves as deeply flawed, unlovable, unworthy, and hopeless.

If You’re Searching for Help

Many factors determine the ways that anxiety and depression are part of your life. Our bodies, predispositions, and life experiences all play a role. My advice for LGBTQ people seeking help with their anxiety or depression is this: Seek a professional who gets the larger contextual picture and what it means to be you.

Written by:-  Rohit Modh