Q: Oct. 10 was World Mental Health Day. Can you speak to the importance of mental health as an LGBTQIA+ person?
A: It is important to remember that one’s mental health is just as important as physical health. We as a society put such a stigma on mental health and often try to deny the existence of mental illness and the struggles that come with them on a daily basis. Depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder are the leading mood disorders for folks in the LGBTQIA+ community. Folks in the LGBTQIA+ community are three times more likely to live with these mental illnesses than their cis-gendered and heterosexual counterparts. Mental health is a result of both environment as well as neurological imbalances. While some folks’ disorders are strictly chemical, being a queer person comes with its own set of struggles: coming out, accepting one’s gender and/or sexuality, the possibility of violence, being fired from one’s job, not being accepted by one’s family and/or peers.
All of this stress and fear can manifest itself in depression and anxiety that can lead to paranoia, impulsive decisions, violence on one’s self and others, and potentially suicide. Keeping this information in mind is important in relation to one’s identity and knowing its okay to not be okay and there are resources such as hotlines, support groups, websites, counselors and many more to help keep one safe and secure. Mental health is important for everyone, not just folks in marginalized groups. Be mindful to take care of yourself and your loved ones too.
1-800-273-TALK (8255) (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
ww.itgetsbetter.org (LGBT focused suicide prevention resources)
Q: Following up with mental health, can you speak to self-care in regards to mental health?
A: Self-care is important to be able to take care of one’s self before things like self-harm or suicide surface out of control. Self-care can take many forms: reading, working out, sleeping, painting, singing, talking to a friend, writing in a journal. It looks different for each person. While we all are fighting our own struggles every day whether they are external or internal, it is crucial to be able to recognize the validity of taking time to put oneself and one’s mental and emotional state as a priority.
Sometimes folks will misinterpret taking time to oneself as being selfish or as a bad friend, but it is perfectly healthy and completely necessary to do what it takes to make sure you as an individual are getting the attention and care that you need. Being a human is hard and exhausting, and rejuvenating oneself will help one’s mental health as well as one’s capacity to be a good friend to others—just make sure you are being a friend to yourself.
Self-care isn’t selfish — it's necessary.
