For LGBT People, Discrimination Still Brings Mental Health Challenges. | Big Think

For LGBT People, Discrimination Still Brings Mental Health Challenges.
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It wasn’t until 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality as a mental disorder. The recency of that decision still affects the LGBT community today. It opens the door to discrimination. Discrimination contributes to higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Dr. James Dilley of the Alliance Health Project discusses its effects, and the impact that a continued shift toward acceptance can have.
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JAMES DILLEY:
Dr. James Dilley is Executive Director of Alliance Health Project in San Francisco, CA. He is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Dilley specializes in AIDS research, in particular the effects of AIDS in conjunction with substance abuse.
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TRANSCRIPT:
James Dilley: You know, it wasn’t until 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association, after a fairly lengthy period of debate, discussion, and advocacy, voted to remove homosexuality as a mental disorder. Discrimination, you know, comes in, of course, in many forms. And the psychological and the social implications of those are, you know, they’re not insignificant. So if you do surveys of physicians and health care providers about their attitudes towards LGBT people, 20 to 30 percent say, you know, “I’m really not comfortable providing this kind of care.” Does one come out on an application to college or to medical school or to law school or, you name it. These are questions that people struggle with even to this very day — 90 percent or so of LGBT kids definitely say that they’ve experienced this kind of thing on, kind of on a daily basis. Whether it’s being told or being called “faggot” or whatever, made to feel badly because they’re different. These kinds of things over time, sort of add up.

Discrimination, actual and perceived, then this expectation that develops for those events, results in lower self-esteem, difficulty with relationships, difficulty with one’s own, feeling happy about one’s own life. There is probably a two-and-a-half or so times likelihood of mental health disorders or problems among LGBT folks. Depression, anxiety, substance use in particular. In particular for women, actually, about three-and-a-half times rate of substance use disorders among lesbians and bisexual women. There are higher rates of, certainly attempted suicide among LGBT communities. Exactly how many of those are completed is harder to know. But I could certainly say just from our clinical work over the years, it’s certainly not an uncommon kind of scenario, unfortunately. There’s just no question that today is just 180 degrees different than the way it was when I was growing up in small towns in the Midwest. As a middle-aged man, suddenly I was able to fight in the armed services when DOMA went down in the '90s. Now, today, I can actually be married in all 50 states. The fact that that has happened over this period of, what, 50 years or so is really quite remarkable. As those negative attitudes lessen, I can’t help but think that there’s going to be lesser mental health problems among LGBT folks.

It wasn’t until 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality as a mental disorder. The recency of that decision still affects the LGBT community today. It opens the door to discrimination. Discrimination contributes to higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Dr. James Dilley of the Alliance Health Project discusses its effects, and the impact that a continued shift toward acceptance can have.

[QuetzalOvejasElectricas]

And the comments for this video are evidence on how there is a lot to be done yet.

[Mariomario-gtoy]

why so many dislikes? most likely 12 year Olds who are trying to be edgy and whiny for no reason. these issues are STILL happening to people and prejudice occurs to many.sexuality prejudice in LGBT community being a big problem. some people need to grow up.

good video.👍

[thomascameron]

I have Attention Deficit Disorder. I demand equal rights as someone who has trouble staying focused and on task! Everyone should know this so that I have an excuse to whinge about for when things go wrong. Troubled past at school, depression. You name it I have had it! So you should be worried that I don't have a tanty in the middle of the office. Make sure to take extra special care of me!

Ok enough.

I DO have ADD. It is a serious disorder and I did have depression and trouble with schooling. But you know what? I learned how to deal with it and eventually came to love it. I walk into the office and make everyone's day better (because in school I learned how to hide my sadness and ineptitude with good social skills). 

I feel as though (and this is controversial) giving a specific group of people that have historically (according to this video) had significant problems with mental illness to much attention, the attention ceases to be beneficial to them.

Feel free to add your two cents, but please! Keep it civil.

[ShawnRavenfire]

Once again, I really don't like the way the music and title cards keep interrupting.  Big Think was much easier to watch before they tried to stylize it, when it was JUST people talking.  The music and title cards just make the videos look cheap.

[VintageRabbit]

Of course it does, to be expected. Even in my native country of the Netherlands, which is quite progressive, there are issues. These issues cannot be fixed by enforcing change, only through time. We'll get there, just look at what's changed in the last 100 years.

[mattiewho]

so, I have a history of stone of the mental health issues he was talking about and I also happen to be pansexual. he was saying people in this community are more likely to have these issues, is there any statistics about how much these issues are caused by LGBT reasons? I never felt like any of my depressions or anything was in anyway linked to my sexuality

[drexler]

This is important basic information that everyone should be aware of. It saddens me that people are still so against lgbtq when it doesn't affect their lives in any way by allowing them to live with the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

[owRekssjfjxjxuurrpqpqss]

Big Think appears to have one of the most toxic, close minded, regressive and hateful communities on YouTube. Really ironic considering the content is targeted towards people who are open to new ideas and logic...

[incrediblemr.e]

The Constitution guarantees that you can treat anybody however you want. Suck it up

[personaluse]

Is it not weird that the lgbtq insist respect and acceptance while they do not exercise that respect and acceptance towards those people who do not have same views as theirs?

[Fleezblarp]

why are there so many dislikes? everything this guy said was either a fact or very reasonable.

[HakuCell]

doesn't this go for any kind of discrimination?

[thatbitch]

why does homophobia even exist? like get a job. as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody, why should we care??

[kds]

I'm gay and haven't suffered discrimination because of it. But then I'm the type that if you make it an issue you're gonna have to deal with the ration of shit about to be rained upon you.

And in my office where I work - a place with a couple hundred people there are two of us known gay.

[abram]

yeah after I tell people i take pills they stop talking to me

[blazedcalibre]

Meh. I don't know how I feel about the whole "LGBT movement" nowadays in America. I've been bisexual all my life. And now that our community has achieved legal equality with all other citizens, what exactly are we asking for? People to treat us kindly? While I agree that it's awful that some kids get shit for coming out when they do, are we really using the right methods in order to achieve this? Religious fundamentalism, which is where the vast majority of this hatred comes from, isn't something that can just be changed through social conditioning, protesting, and making "activism" videos (that generally just spew the same deluge of information that the majority of the sane, rational public already fucking knows.) Generally, the sorts of folks with incredibly polarized, extreme opinions, such as those who hate "the gays, " don't care about these sorts of things. They have an echo chamber that they like to surround themselves in, and care not for dissenting opinions. I've found, anecdotally, at least, acceptance comes not through these sorts of videos, but simply knowing someone who is Gay, Bi, or Trans, and coming to terms with it themselves. And still, part of me wants to let the crazy religious folk believe what they believe. Call it "internalized homophobia, " or whatever the SJWs would dub it, but I honestly feel the need to defend freedom of religion as a matter of principle. Being an atheist, I value such a concept, and I imagine those who truly are spiteful towards LGBT folk do as well. All in all, though, I think the most powerful weapon for the LGBT community now is time. Trust me when I say things will change a few generations along the line. This too, shall pass.

[nocturne]

Interesting how this video doesn't cover the bullying within the lgbt community. The lgbt community has to stop acting like a bunch of victims, when most of their problems are from within the community and not from outside of it!

[chelseaizcool]

The homophobes is the comments are really jumping out right now 😳

[GodsStrongestScroller]

Being dicriminated doesn't cause mental problems being LGBT does

[Ewarne]

I have to admit that I am really really really tired of hearing about the LGBT community crisis. I'm not saying that its not a problem, I fully support equal marriage and rights - It's the massive oversaturation by the media. The same thing happened earlier this year with the 100th anniversary of WWI. While its important and momentous, I am going to resent it if its thrown in my face over and over and over again.