Today is World Mental Health Day and tomorrow is National Coming Out Day, so I’ve been thinking about the intersection of queer identities, the world, and mental health. There has been a significant amount of discouraging news about the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals this week. On Monday, 2 Supreme Court justices wrote an opinion against the decision that protects marriage equality. This week also marked one year since the Supreme Court heard three cases on whether employers could fire employees for identifying as LGBTQIA+. A few days ago, a federal court in California ruled that Fuller Seminary (the school I attend) could expel queer students and still receive federal aid.
All of these decisions add an additional heavy weight of feeling unsafe to everything else in my life. Additionally, I often feel uncertain if I can share the weight with others because I don’t know if disclosing that I’m queer will be used against me. Most of the time I am able to maintain a facade that I’m okay and switch to being honest and authentic in safe spaces. Sometimes though, the weight of deciding how authentic to be is too much and the facade breaks.
I took this picture a couple of months ago after the facade broke in a professional meeting because the experience felt significant. Marginalized individuals have to constantly carry extra weight. Furthermore, when people have multiple marginalized identities (for example, a trans woman of color), they may be affected by many layers of discrimination, stigma, and mental strain. This weight negatively impacts mental health. It is crucial to note that negative mental health outcomes are a result of this is about how marginalized identities and individuals are treated in our society, not a result of the identities.
I write all of this to say that as mental health professionals, or even just as individuals, it is incredibly important to be aware of the impact of societal issues like police brutality against marginalized racial groups, attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights, and healthcare inequality impact mental health. Advocacy outside of clinical work is another way that we help carry the weight with marginalized individuals.
