The LGBTQ+ community – which disproportionately experiences discrimination, bullying and violence – is particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges. The GeneSight® Mental Health Monitor, a nationwide survey from Myriad Genetics, finds nearly twice as many LGBTQ+ respondents say they are currently diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety than the general population (41% vs. 22% for depression, and 47% vs. 25% for anxiety). Nearly all (93%) LGBTQ+ respondents have turned to alcohol, drugs, binge or restrictive eating, gambling or other coping mechanisms to deal with life’s problems.
“In looking for acceptance, some LGBTQ+ community members may turn to dangerous behaviors to cope with the stress society places on them for being who they are,” said Dawn Johnson, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with the Indiana Center for Recovery. “It’s important to create a safe environment for patients to talk about their experiences, past trauma and the ways they’ve coped with the weight of that trauma, whether it be healthy or unhealthy.”
Of those who turned to addictive behaviors, 30% of LGBTQ+ respondents said these coping methods “helped” them cope with their mental health struggles. It was something Rose Holzeard, a transgender woman from Indiana, used to think was the only way to make it through to the next day.
“When people think of addiction, they often just think of drugs and alcohol, but it can really be anything that you use as an unbalanced crutch. For me, I would fixate on a person and destroy everything else in my life to keep that relationship,” Rose said. “Concentrating on that [relationship] seemed to be the only thing that kept my mind off of my constant suicidal ideation, and I was terrified to let go of it.”
The survey found that 37% of LGBTQ+ respondents with anxiety or depression feel finding medication that better relieves their symptoms would have a major impact on improving their mental health in the future. Yet more than half (52%) said they experienced trial and error in trying to find a mental health medication that worked for them.
It’s something Rose struggled with for more than a decade before her clinician ordered the GeneSight test, which analyzes how a patient’s genes may affect their outcomes with medications commonly prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, and other mental health conditions.
“I was on a number of medications for a long time. And I’ve always said it was kind of like spitting into the ocean. You’d throw the pill in and it wouldn’t do anything, or if it did anything it was very minor,” Rose said. “The GeneSight test didn’t take away my mental health struggles, but helped my clinician find a medication that made my issues manageable for the first time in my life. Now I feel that I have the time, ability and motivation to help others who are struggling and to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.”
