Being gay is a mental illness

Being attracted to the same sex was considered a mental illness by the American Psychological Association, until being widely revoked in 1973, on the grounds that same sex attracted people were as stable as heterosexual people. Being gay is not, in any way, a mental illness, but rather a simple biological difference between people, that does not, in and of itself, negatively impact lives. Being attracted to the same sex is no more a mental illness than preferring chocolate cake to pasta, or being right or left-handed. Further to this, many have cited the apparent lack of homosexuality in animals as a reason for it being a mental disorder, to clarify, homosexual behaviour exists in every animal species, bar those that do no have sex (like sea urchins). As such, it’s fair to say that same sex attraction is a relatively normal part of being a human being.

LGBT people have a higher rate of mental illness than non-LGBT people

This question is complicated, it is true that people who identify as LGBT report higher rates of mood disorders such as anxiety and depression than people who don’t, a fact that has often been used to point to LGBT identity as being undesirable. However, in regions where LGBT people are supported and treated without discrimination, as most non-LGBT people are worldwide, they report rates of mental illness identical to non-LGBT people. This suggests that increased rates of LGBT mental illness are the product of discrimination, because of a phenomenon known as minority anxiety, a model describing the increased anxiety felt by stigmatised minorities across the world, which usually leads them to produce more cortisol (the hormone responsible for some physical feelings of stress) and can lead to long term physical and mental health issues. As such, LGBT experience more anxiety and depression as a result of long-term stress brought upon by discrimination. When this stress is removed, by alleviating discrimination, the likelihood of having a mood disorder becomes equal to the general population.

Being LGBT generally results from a childhood of abuse

This myth is a relic of when being LGBT was considered a mental disorder, and is often perpetrated today to try to reinstate the belief that any LGBT identity is a result of ‘mental disturbance’. Studies in the US have demonstrated that LGBT individuals have the same likelihood of having suffered childhood abuse as non-LGBT people, and suggest that most reports of LGBT youth suffering abuse are often taken from their teenage years, when crises can arise as their sexual and gender identities emerge and can cause conflict with unsupportive and discriminatory family members. Being LGBT has no correlation with having received childhood abuse, and as such is not caused by it. However, LGBT individuals often report stories of abuse in teenage years, usually because their LGBT identity might come into conflict with their family.

Gay people can be made to change their sexuality

As established earlier, being attracted to the same sex is a natural part of human behaviour, however, some groups advocate the conversion through a number of means ranging from electro shock therapy, to complete abstinence. None of these methods work, and in many countries have become criminal acts of abuse. These existence of these practices is relevant to mental health for a number of reasons, aside from the extremely traumatic experience they usually are for the individuals who participate in them, often unwillingly, leaving them with mood disorders and PTSD, the very existence of the programs has been attributed as one of the leading causes of internalised homophobia in the modern world. Internalised homophobia itself is a subconscious dislike of one’s own LGBT identity sometimes manifested as outright denial of it, but more often as a dislike of other LGBT people for perceived flamboyance, often refusing to associate with people for being ‘too gay’ or just not normal. This form of internalised homophobia is responsible for much of the long term psychological illnesses such as depression and anxiety, and can most notably be alleviated by minimising perceived discrimination in youth, and removing references to one’s identity as being broken and needing to be fixed.

Trans identity is a mental illness

Trans identity’s relationship with mental illness is complex. The prevailing view surrounding it being that transitioning to another gender is the cure for a mental illness known as gender dysphoria, a feeling of conflict and discomfort surrounding one’s own gender, and identifying with another. Gender dysphoria itself is experienced in a number of different ways by different people, primarily varying in severity. Therefore transitioning is tied to mental illness, as the optimal treatment for it, but that does not mean that trans people are mentally ill. Rates of mental illness in trans individuals post-transition generally drop drastically, down to the ‘normal’ non-LGBT threshold, as long as trans people are not discriminated against. Being transgender is not a mental illness, but rather response to a medical condition known as gender dysphoria.

Editor’s note: LGBT communities may often feel stressed because of the stigma about them. Be sure to check out this page for more information about stress!