The Mental Health of Individuals in the LGBT community

3253 Words7 Pages

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to cause a person enough mental stress that they would take their own life. This is always unfortunate, but in the case of young individuals it borders on unthinkable. Older LGBT individuals do not tend to fair much better either seeing as they were raised in generations who were stricter on what was considered proper and morally right. All this being said, even as the culture of the world shifts to more accepting LGBT individuals their mental health is something that is only now being looked at thoroughly. There is very little research that has been done in the past on the mental health of LGBT individuals. In 1997 the federal center for Mental Health Services called for information to be compiled on the topic (Lucksted 3). Most of the information came from small publications, grass root information and self-reporting and even this information was incomplete because of the lesser reporting on people of the transgender and bisexual communities. This older report shows what the state of affairs was in ... ... middle of paper ... ...i.org/10.1037/a0016441 Johnson, L., & Federman, E. J. (2014). Training, experience, and attitudes of VA psychologists regarding LGBT issues: Relation to practice and competence.. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1(1), 10-18. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000019 Kelleher, C. (2009). Minority stress and health: Implications for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 22(4), 373-379. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09515070903334995 Talbott, J. (2006). Rates and Predictors of Mental Illness in Gay Men, Lesbians and Bisexual Men and Women: Results From a Survey Based in England and Wales. Yearbook of Psychiatry and Applied Mental Health, 2006, 158. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0084-3970(08)70152-X

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