Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is an annual celebration in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising is considered a turning point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally (NAMI, 2022). In the 1960s, the Stonewall Inn was a gay club in New York City that served as a refuge for many members of the LGBTQ community. On June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided the inn, which sparked a riot among bar patrons, neighborhood residents, and the police. The riot included hundreds of people and led to six days of protests and violent clashes between law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, New York City. A year after this initial riot, thousands of people marched from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in what was then called “Christopher Street Liberation Day” — marking what is now recognized as the nation’s first gay pride parade. Since 1970, LGBTQ+ people and allies have continued to gather in June to march with pride and demonstrate for equal rights. Today, these celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, and LGBT Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. During Pride Month it is also common for memorials to be held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS (Library of Congress, 2022).

Due to the overlapping aspects and combinations related to an individual’s experience as a member of the LBBTQ+ community (otherwise known as intersectionality), it’s important to recognize how someone’s experience of sexual orientation and gender identity relates to their mental health.

LGBTQ+ adults are more than twice as likely (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016) as heterosexual adults to experience a mental health condition. Transgender individuals are nearly four times as likely (Wanta et al., 2019) as cisgender individuals (people whose gender identity corresponds with their birth sex) individuals to experience a mental health condition.

Some risk factors to consider when someone is a member of the LGBTQ+ community include:

• “Coming out” – or the process of sharing their sexual orientation or gender identity
• Rejection – being turned away or judged for one’s identity
• Trauma – Homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, bullying, and feeling identity-based shame. As well as discrimination, including labeling, stereotyping, denial of opportunities or access, and verbal, mental and physical abuse, and hate crimes
• Substance use – LGBTQ+ adults are two times as likely to develop a substance use disorder, and transgender individual are four times as likely to develop a substance use disorder
• Homelessness – LGBTQ+ youth and young adults have a 120% higher risk of suffering from homelessness due to rejection from family or discrimination due to gender identity or sexual orientation
• Suicide – The LGBTQ+ population is at a higher risk than the heterosexual, cisgender population for suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts
• Inadequate mental health care – overlapping and differing challenges being as well as lack of cultural competency impact LGBTQ+ individuals’ ability to receive the care they need from providers

PSTD Awareness Day (June 27)

What does PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) mean and how do you define it? PTSD is a diagnosable mental health disorder defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-5) as “exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one, or more, ways.” At the heart of PTSD is trauma, including events such as an accident, assault, military combat, or natural disaster which can have lasting impacts on a person’s mental health (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Typically, symptoms of PTSD begin within three months after experiencing, or being exposed to, a traumatic event. For a diagnosis of PTSD to be given, the symptoms must last more than one month and can sometimes co-occur with other mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. Sometimes after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, our “fight-or-flight” biological instincts, which can save us in the moment of crisis, can leave us with ongoing symptoms. Whether you think of these symptoms as a stress response variant or PTSD, consider them a consequence of our body’s inability to effectively return to “normal” in the months after its extraordinary response to a traumatic event. A diagnosis of PTSD requires a discussion with a trained professional (NAMI, 2022).

Symptoms of PTSD generally fall into these broad categories:

• Re-experiencing type symptoms, such as recurring, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories, which can include flashbacks of the trauma, bad dreams, and intrusive thoughts.
• Avoidance, which can include staying away from certain places or objects that are reminders of the traumatic event. A person might actively avoid a place or person that might activate overwhelming symptoms.
• Cognitive and mood symptoms, which can include trouble recalling the event, negative thoughts about oneself. A person may also feel numb, guilty, worried, or depressed and have difficulty remembering the traumatic event. Cognitive symptoms can in some instances extend to include out-of-body experiences or feeling that the world is “not real” (derealization).
• Arousal symptoms, such as hypervigilance. Examples might include being intensely startled by stimuli that resembles the trauma, trouble sleeping or outbursts of anger (NAMI, 2022).