Research has linked trauma to addiction over and over again. One of the groups that experiences a particularly large amount of trauma in our society is the LGBTQ+ community. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a heightened risk for substance misuse among LGBTQ+ people. At Safe Harbor Recovery Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, we recognize that the people who are celebrating National Coming Out Day on October 11, are people who need and deserve our support.
What is National Coming Out Day?
National Coming Out Day is an awareness-raising event that promotes a safe, loving, inclusive world for LGBTQ+ people. It envisions a society where all people can live authentically, without fear. National Coming Out Day has been celebrated since 1988.
The Trauma LGBTQ+ People Experience
Trauma is any event that is so painful, frightening or overwhelming that it exceeds a person’s ability to cope. Anyone can experience trauma, which can include things like natural disasters, abuse, divorce, or the death of a loved one. LGBTQ+ people often experience added trauma as a result of who they love or how they view their own bodies. For example:
- Violence against LGBTQ+ people remains high, even before adulthood:
- LGBTQ+ teens are twice as likely as their peers to be bullied, assaulted, and shunned in school
- LGBTQ+ teens are around 40 percent less likely to have a supportive adult in their lives than their peers
- LGBTQ+ young people face societal stigma and harassment from adults as well as other adolescents
- Many state legislatures have sought to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent years
- Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people continues to occur each day, in the form of family rejection, bullying in schools, workplace mistreatment, and social isolation.
Increased Trauma Means Increased Risk of Addiction
All of these hardships result in a higher likelihood that LGBTQ+ people will struggle with mental health and substance use disorders.
- Trans youth are 2.5 to 4 times more likely to use drugs, compared to cisgender teens.
- LGBTQ+ adolescents are more likely to use multiple substances, which increases their risk of health issues and overdose.
- Participation in conversion therapy, which attempts to “cure” an LGBTQ+ person of being lesbian, gay, trans, etc., further increases the risk of the person misusing alcohol, marijuana, and prescription medications
- Substance use can also trigger mental health concerns like depression and anxiety
- People who struggle with addiction and/or mental illness are more likely to consider and attempt suicide.
Information About Coming Out
If you have questions about your sexual orientation or gender identity or how you can express this information to people around you, the Trevor Project has a handbook that can help you find answers and make choices about how you want to move forward.
How to Support LGBTQ+ People
If you are not LGBTQ+ but want to show your support for people who are, there are several ways you can offer help:
- Speak up against injustice and require that other people in your life show respect for LGBTQ+ people
- Use gender-neutral pronouns until you are able to confirm which pronouns a person uses for themselves
- Place rainbows on your car, shirt, workstation, etc. to provide a visual cue that you are an accepting person
- If someone comes out to you as gay, lesbian, transgender, questioning, intersex, etc.:
- Thank them for trusting you
- Confirm that you support their right to be themselves and that your affection for them will not change as a result of them coming out
- Welcome their friends and partners into your life and home
- If the person coming out is your child, connect them with a positive LGBTQ+ role model, so that they can see that people like them grow up to have healthy, happy, normal lives
- Talk to your faith community about how to become a more supportive place for LGBTQ+ people
- Educate yourself about the LGBTQ+ community, its history, and current issues impacting LGBTQ+ people
Where to Learn More about the LGBTQ+ Community
Numerous community organizations exist to support LGBTQ+ people and educate allies. Some of these include:
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) – a national organization that provides education and support to allies of the LGBTQ+ community. Virginia has several local chapters.
The National Black Justice Coalition – an organization with the purpose of supporting LGBTQ+ people who are Black
The Trevor Project – provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ individuals