Strikg fdgs ntaed new study may broan appreciatn of unique strsors faced by gay and bisexual men
Contents:
- DEPRSN IS KILLG GAY MEN
- GAY MENTAL HEALTH: MENTAL HEALTH ISSU FACG GAY MEN
- DEPRSN AND SUICIDALY GAY MEN: IMPLITNS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIRS
- PRSURE TO KEEP UP: STAT IMBALANCE A MAJOR FACTOR STRS GAY MEN
DEPRSN IS KILLG GAY MEN
Gay men experience more prsn and suici, but help is available. * gay and depressed *
The 2013 fifth edn of the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn's Diagnostic and Statistil Manual (DSM) f prsn clilly as a prsive mood or loss of tert or pleasure nearly all activi over a two-week perd, along wh four of the symptoms: “chang appete or weight, sleep, and psychomotor activy; creased energy; feelgs of worthlsns or guilt; difficulty thkg, ncentratg, or makg cisns; or recurrent thoughts of ath or suicidal iatn or suici plans or attempts.
GAY MENTAL HEALTH: MENTAL HEALTH ISSU FACG GAY MEN
Highlights of the specific mental health needs among gay and bisexual men. * gay and depressed *
Health re provirs workg wh gay men should first tablish rapport and tst by displayg empathy and not makg assumptns about an dividual’s behavr and sexual choic based on generalizatns about “all” gay men. Speakg openly and ankly about the disproportnate impact of prsn on gay men, and prrizg our mental health and well-beg, we n chase that big gray elephant out of the room—and keep om harmg any more of .
DEPRSN AND SUICIDALY GAY MEN: IMPLITNS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIRS
Gay mental health n be challenged, often, by prsn, anxiety or substance e disorr. Learn about gay prsn and gays and addictn. * gay and depressed *
Mental health unselg and support groups that are sensive to the needs of gay and bisexual men n be pecially eful if you are g to terms wh your sexual orientatn or are experiencg prsn, anxiety, or other mental health problems. While many gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men may not seek re om a mental health provir bee of a fear of discrimatn or homophobia, is important to keep this as an optn and to fd a provir that is tstworthy and patible. “Marriage equaly and the chang legal stat were an improvement for some gay men, ” says Christopher Stults, a rearcher at New York Universy who studi the differenc mental health between gay and straight men.
In the Netherlands, where gay marriage has been legal sce 2001, gay men rema three tim more likely to suffer om a mood disorr than straight men, and 10 tim more likely to engage “suicidal self-harm.
PRSURE TO KEEP UP: STAT IMBALANCE A MAJOR FACTOR STRS GAY MEN
Acrdg to the Natnal Instute of Mental Health, prsn is one of the most mon mental health ndns the Uned Stat, affectg an timated 17.3 ln adults and 3.2 ln adolcents [6]. Wh those numbers, we see many LGBTQ+ (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer) dividuals sufferg om mood-related symptoms, predomantly anxiety and prsn. * gay and depressed *
“We see gay men who have never been sexually or physilly asslted wh siar post-trmatic strs symptoms to people who have been bat suatns or who have been raped, ” says Alex Kroghlian, a psychiatrist at the Fenway Instute’s Center for Populatn Rearch LGBT Health.
For s, this is what psychologists thought, too: that the key stag inty formatn for gay men all led up to g out, that once we were fally fortable wh ourselv, we uld beg buildg a life wh a muny of people who’d gone through the same thg. Rearchers say this kd of trag, liberately tryg to appear more mascule and takg on a different sex role, is jt one of the ways gay men prsure each other to atta “sexual pal, ” the equivalent of gog to the gym or pluckg our eyebrows. Usually when you hear about the shockg primacy of hookup apps gay life—Grdr, the most popular, says s average er spends 90 mut per day on —’s some panicked media story about murrers or homophob trawlg them for victims, or about the troublg “chemsex” scen that have spng up London and New York.