May 14 saw this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week; a week with the aim of reducing the stigma around Mental Illness whilst highlighting the support and services that are currently available. Sixteen Million British adults will experience a mental illness at some point this year, with the figures even higher for teens and adolescents. In England we have a mental health epidemic, whilst CAMHS services are continually being cut and funding is being withdrawn for services that the country is in dire need of.
Giulia discusses mental health following Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Concerns, although prevalent in every sect of society, affect the LGTBQ+ community perhaps most fiercely. The negative effects of consistent and systematic discrimination and marginalization mean that those in the LGTBQ+ community are more likely to suffer from Anxiety, Depression, and Stress, as well as being more likely to experience general ill mental health. 52% of LGBTQ+ adolescents have self-harmed either in the past or recently, versus 25% of heterosexual cis-gender young people, whilst 44% of LGBTQ+ teens have considered committing suicide.
Creating an inclusive and comprehensive mental health system is paramount to ensuring the safety and well-being of some of our most vulnerable citizens – a movement that can only start with the complete normalization of sexualities other than heterosexuality. With the de-stigmatizations of preferences and orientations. With the education and schooling of those who don’t currently possess the tools and information to be tolerant and accepting.
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