Mental Health & Pride: A Glimpse Inside the Minds of LGBTQ+ Youth By: Rayna Moiz

We live in a time where equality of all groups is advocated for, and hate speech is heavily looked down upon. One example of this is the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights, a movement which has made great advancements since the mid 20th century.  Since 1970, the month of June has been recognized as Pride Month, dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ individuals.

As society has seemingly become more accepting of queer teens and adults alike, much has been done to improve the mental health of the LGBTQ+ community. We have seen a record number of  LGBTQ+ individuals elected to political positions, celebrated in film, and striving in athletics. With the greater representation of strong queer people in today’s world, LGBTQ+ youth are able to feel more secure in themselves. Pride parades and other celebrations have begun commencing, a rewarding chain of events.

However, these positive statistics are often overshadowed by the vast majority of negative ones. Recent events in today’s world have made it more difficult for LGBTQ+ individuals to openly express themselves in society, erasing the progress made for queer rights.

 According to an article from the National Institute of Health, “LGBT youth report elevated rates of emotional distress and symptoms related to mood and anxiety disorders”.  To continue, it does not help that Congress has recently passed over 300 pieces of legislation targeted at the LGBTQ+ community. One example of this is the “Don’t Say Gay'' Law, prohibiting teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. According to Time Magazine, the law serves to “erase LGBTQ+ from discussions'', which is bound to make queer youth feel isolated from their communities.

Communities often adopt the beliefs of their governing authorities, and, as a result, these laws have only promoted anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in our country. I decided to speak with a friend of mine named Alben Marco, an LGBTQ+ teen living in the midst of it all. He shared his sentiment regarding his coming out below:

“I felt anxiety, yes. Like anxiousness telling my parents when I was coming out. I felt relieved and kind of grateful that I gained enough courage to come out to my peers.” As for who he felt the most support from when he came out, Alben said, “Definitely my friends. I found comfort in knowing that they were okay with me being me. I really felt secure with them.” 

Anyone who has struggled mentally knows that surrounding yourself with people who love and care about you makes all the difference. Alben’s story shows that, even living in a world where LGBTQ+ voices are stifled at times, a good support system does much in the way of improving the mental health of queer youth.