Monday, May 12, 2025

How Many Times Have We Heard

That we are mentally ill from the Republicans, well studies confirms it... the Republicans are driving us crazy.


  • 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth say recent debates around anti-trans bills have negatively impacted their mental health; as a result of these policies and debates in the last year, 45% of trans youth experienced cyberbullying, and nearly 1 in 3 reported not feeling safe to go to the doctor or hospital when they were sick or injured.
  • 75% of LGBTQ youth say that both anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and threats of violence against LGBTQ spaces often give them stress or anxiety.
  • At least 70% of LGBTQ youth say issues like efforts to restrict abortion access, gun violence, police brutality, and not having enough money often give them stress and anxiety.

The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) youth, released a new poll today that finds an overwhelming majority of LGBTQ youth have been negatively impacted by recent debates and laws around anti-LGBTQ policies and that many have also experienced victimization as a result. The poll, conducted by Morning Consult between October 23 and November 2, 2022, among a national sample of 716 LGBTQ youth ages 13–24, also assessed emotional responses to these anti-LGBTQ policies, as well as which other social issues often give LGBTQ youth stress and anxiety. The full analysis can be found here.
They are driving us to drink... literally.

The Newport Institute reports...
It’s important to understand that a young adult’s sexuality and mental health are not directly related. LGBTQ youth mental health suffers not because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in itself. Rather, they face higher risk due to being mistreated and stigmatized in society, as well as by family.

Between 20 and 45 percent of the homeless youth in the United States identify as LGBTQ, and most have left home or been kicked out due to family rejection. And 1 in 4 LGBTQ young people report that they have been physically threatened or harmed in the past year due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the Trevor Project survey. Moreover, the survey found that nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people experienced poor mental health most or all of the time due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation.
So when the Republicans point out the fact that the LGBTQ+ and especially the trans community have a high rates of depression... well yeah. They are doing that to us and it effects our health.

The National Institute of Health has a website that publishes medical research called PubMed and there is an article there, "Examining the relationship between proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and LGBTQ+ college student mental health: findings from the Healthy Minds Study, 2021-2022" and their conclusion...
Results: A significant positive association between proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and increased depressive symptoms among LGBTQ+ college students was found. This association remained significant after controlling for individual-level stressors and identities, including a sense of belonging, campus environment perceptions, first-generation student status, and transgender or gender non-conforming identity (TGNC).
They are driving us to drink and drugs! Then they hold it against us. A Rutgers University study found...
The recent tidal wave of anti-trans state legislation, coupled with a harmful practice that’s still legal in much of the country, could have dire consequences for many of the nation’s 300,000 transgender adolescents.

Three new studies by researchers at Rutgers and other institutions add to the mounting evidence that banning gender-affirming care for minors and allowing parents to force their children into conversion therapy could lead to more suicide attempts.

The research also reveals that anti-trans legislation causes ambient harm by emboldening transphobic people and by causing many trans youth and young adults to become more anxious, depressed, and withdrawn.

“State lawmakers and governors have enormous power to lower the suicide risk for some of their most vulnerable constituents,” said Yana Rodgers, a professor in the School of Management and Labor Relations. “Unfortunately, many states are raising the risk by choosing ideology over evidence.”
All their hate that is directed at us is having a negative health affect on us! In the White House "research paper" pushed the discredited Conversion Therapy on us, Their reliance on junk science hurts us in more way then one.
Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific practice that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Leading medical and mental health organizations have warned that it’s harmful and ineffective.

Campbell and Rodgers analyzed data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey to examine how conversion therapy affects trans youth. Their study, published by the Journal of Health Economics, reveals that it increases the risk of attempting suicide by 55 percent and increases the risk of running away from home by 128 percent.

The effects are largest in people who began conversion therapy between ages 11 and 14. Strikingly, the danger progressively worsens in the five years after first exposure. This reflects intensifying gender dysphoria and the stress of living in a hostile environment.

“Parents who subject their children to conversion therapy are inflicting serious harm,” Rodgers said. “The detrimental effects appear immediately, and they accumulate over time.”

Twenty-one states, the District of Columbia, and more than 100 municipalities have banned conversion therapy for minors, and five states have enacted partial bans, but it remains legal everywhere else.
They don't want to help us, they want to destroy us!
Many respondents reported the anti-trans legislation does not affect them directly because they already face barriers to gender-affirming care, such as affordability and fear of telling their family. But the indirect harm still resonates.

I don't want to end on a negative note, the Newport Institution goes on to write...
These four resources are essential in supporting the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ young adults.

Support from family
Parental acceptance and affirmation are the most important predictors of LGBTQ mental health. When they are deprived of that acceptance, young adults suffer from the tragic consequences of relational trauma. One study found that LGBTQ young adults who experienced high levels of family rejection during adolescence were nearly six times as likely to be depressed and three times more likely to use illegal drugs. Trevor Project research shows that LGBTQ youth who feel high social support from family attempt suicide at less than half the rate of those who felt low or moderate social support.

Self-compassion
It sounds simple, but it’s incredibly effective. Research shows that self-compassion and self-empowerment are essential resources for personal happiness—and can even help overcome a lack of parental acceptance. Mindfulness and positive affirmation practices that build empathy and acceptance for oneself are therefore powerful resources for LGBTQ youth mental health.

Supportive communities
Connection is vital for LGBTQ young adults. A review of 34 studies on LGBTQ youth mental health found that community groups and GSAs (Gay-Straight Alliance groups) provided an all-important “sense of solidarity and friendship in the face of isolation.” Feeling connected with the LGBTQ community can even protect young people from the negative outcomes of prejudice, one study found. In addition, caring adults and positive peer connections also serve as invaluable resources.

Self-care
Building healthy habits and routines can take some effort, but once these practices are established, they will continue to support young adults throughout life. Self-care includes not just attending to physical health, but also to mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational well-being—whether that means making a gratitude list or savoring the beauty of the ocean or a gorgeous sunset. And self-care also includes seeking the support of a mental healthcare professional if you’re suffering from anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts, rather than trying to tough it out on your own.

Ultimately, despite the challenges they face, developing and drawing on these resources can help LGBTQ young adults fully embrace who they are and find a path forward to flourishing.
I remember the old saying... What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

*****

I asked ChatGPT AI that...
That phrase — "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger" — originally from Nietzsche, can be empowering in some contexts, but it’s also complicated when applied to marginalized communities like LGBTQ+ individuals.

In reality, chronic exposure to discrimination, hostile legislation, and social stigma doesn't just build resilience — it also causes measurable psychological harm. While many LGBTQ+ people do develop incredible strength, empathy, and community solidarity in response to adversity, it often comes despite the trauma, not because of it.

Resilience shouldn't be a requirement for dignity or safety. Everyone deserves to thrive without needing to be "toughened up" by injustice.

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