LGBTQIA+ Community

While belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community can be a source of strength, it also brings unique challenges. For those who identify as LGBTQIA+, it’s important to recognize how your experience of sexual orientation and gender identity relates to your mental health.

People in the LGBTQIA+ community can face unique mental health challenges. In keeping with our mission to expand mental health care access to everyone, Nystrom & Associates does not discriminate against members of the LGBTQIA+ community or their families.

LGBTQ individuals are more than twice as likely as heterosexual men and women to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime. They are 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and substance misuse compared with heterosexual individuals.

Why do members of the LGBTQIA+ community have more mental health concerns?

Members of the LGBTQAI+ community may:

• Have to cope with stigma, trauma, rejection, discrimination, or violence
• Have negative feelings about themselves because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
• Feel isolated or lonely
• Feel that they must hide their sexual orientation or gender identity

What are the most common LGBTQIA+ mental health issues?

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Substance abuse
• Thinking about or attempting suicide

Rejection, isolation, bullying, and safety issues can all conspire to make it more difficult for LGBTQIA+ youth to feel safe and supported. This can result in mental health issues and may account for the higher rates among those in LGBTQIA+ communities.

Connect With a Therapist

Confronting mental health symptoms with an LGBTQIA-inclusive mental health provider can lead to better outcomes, and ultimately recovery. A therapist can help you decide which steps make sense for you, diagnose any co-occurring mental health conditions, and cope with the pushback you may receive from unaccepting people.