preview

People Within The Lgb Community

Good Essays

Most people experience some form of anxiety or depression throughout their lives, no matter their sexual orientations. However, it is likely that those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), or anywhere else on the spectrum of homosexuality are at a higher risk to experience problems with their mental health than people who identify as heterosexual. People within the LGB community often face discrimination because they do not identify as heterosexual, or they aren’t attracted to the opposite sex. People within the LGB community are likelier to develop problems with their mental health due to discrimination, victimization, or general alienation. Dr. Apu Chakraborty from University College London, UK, believes that discrimination within the LGB community is a contributor to this increase in mental health problems (Collingwood). Dr. Chakraborty and his team looked at rates of mental disorder in over seven thousand people living in the United Kingdom, whose details they received from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. They found that depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm were more common in homosexuals. The study found that homosexual people are 10 percent unhappier than heterosexual people. It showed that 30 percent of homosexual people described themselves as happy, while 40 percent of heterosexual people claimed to be happy. This is something to be worried about, according to Dr. Chakraborty. He said his study was

Get Access