BY TONYA Y. GRIFFITH, LMSW
The LGBTQ community is still fairly silent when it comes to having conversations about mental health. As a trauma-focused therapist based in Harper Woods, I work closely with LGBTQ people who struggle to talk about their mental health. I understand why no one wants to talk about it, but mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, and to make a real difference, we need to overcome the stereotypes and prejudice that result from misconceptions about it. Much like diabetes or high blood pressure, mental illness is a medical health condition that is treatable. So I wanted to take this opportunity during Mental Health Awareness Month to remind the LGBTQ community that help is available for those who want it.
Lyrics from the song "I Cry to Myself" by Chante Moore come to mind when I think about the number of LGBTQ people suffering from mental illness who don't seek the help they need.
"I cry to myself, when no one else is listening. I'll tell you I'm fine but deep inside I'm dying when I'm all alone no one sees when the lights go down. I cry every night, suffer in silence, no I can't deny this pain is real but I keep trying. Cause nobody else is crying for me. Does anybody care how I feel. Everyday I'm trying to hide what is real. This pain that I have inside of me is tearing my life apart."
But I am here to tell you that you don't have to cry alone because you're not alone.
Many LGBTQ people suffer from mental illness, which does not differentiate. While it can affect you at any time in your life, three-fourths of all mental illness begins by age 24, irrespective of your gender, income, race or sexual orientation. Mental illness does not discriminate. Most of us have a basic understanding of the issues faced by LGBTQ people and how it impacts our mental health from anxiety and depression to substance abuse and eating disorders.
But in the past few years, I have seen about a 50 percent increase in the amount of lesbian, bisexual and gay clients coming in for therpautic services for issues related to trauma both in their past and currently. This number balloons to about 75 percent for my transgender clients. It's with that in mind I want to draw attention to Post Trumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a mental health issue specifically related to our community.
A traumatic event can be dangerous, scary or violent when we face or witness an immediate threat to ourselves or a loved one. In those instances, we may feel terror or helplessness when experiencing horrific events that we are unable to protect ourselves from or stop from happening to someone else. As a result, the body can experience both physical and mental traumas.
Some examples of traumatic incidents that I hear a lot about in the LGBTQ community are abuse or neglect as a child whether it's sexual, physical or emotional. Many LGBTQ people, especially youth are victims of bullying either in the past or presently via social media and in person. PTSD can also occur after being exposed to violence, such as being a victim of a crime or the witnessing of a physical or sexual assault. The trauma we experience in our lives may have long-term effects on how we view the world, and on our quality of life.
When I first see a client who experiences a traumatic event in their lives, my intial diagnsois might be Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) if they sought out treatment right away, as this usually occurs within the first 30 days after the traumatic event. However, if this initial mental condition is left untreated – meaning you did not seek mental health services – it can then lead to PTSD. If you have experienced trauma, your symptoms might be nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of situations that trigger the trauma, trouble sleeping and eating, feeling tired, sad, lonely or simply numb.
I recently had a client – who gave me permission to discuss her story – referred for services who was a victim of a serious sexual assault six months prior to starting treatment. During our sessions, she explained how she was also a victim of repeated sexual and phyical abuse as a child. She explained how she was having trouble sleeping because of the nightmares she was experiencing. She was also having trouble with extreme flashbacks as a result of the assault. These are some classic symptoms of PTSD.
The course of treatment for PTSD and its duration can vary quite dramatically and a variety of different treatment strategies might be used across the stages of treatment. With this particular client, we usually met once a week for an hour and focused on talking about the events, her reactions to them and ways of modifying the effects the PTSD had on her life. This treatment often uses a combination of exposure, which is consciously thinking about the event or challenging the trigger or event. We also did relaxation training to help her learn to calm down and process though her thoughts and feelings about the event. This is just one technique that can be used with those suffering from PTSD.
If you have experienced trauma and you are having these symptoms, please consider talking with a therapist about it. There is help and as I said, you do not have to cry or suffer alone. I know that many of us from the LBGTQ community have our own reasons for not seeking help for mental conditions such as PTSD. I also understand that the history of mental health treatment for the LGBTQ community has not always been good. In fact, it has been downright horrific. I know that our community still faces unequal care due to a lack of training and understanding by mental health professionals who lack knowledge and experience working with LGBTQ people.
But don't be dejected because fortuitously there are now more knowledgeable and competent therapists who are trained to work with the LGBTQ community and can help you process and deal with mental issues such as PTSD during confidential sessions.
The most important point to understand is that if you or someone you know is experiencing what you believe to be mental illness, please reach out for help. If you cannot afford to pay for mental health services, there are agencies that I can connect you with that will help pay the cost for therapy.
