Using 2000 U.S. Census data, Harris Interactive Research estimated that 6.8 percent of Americans over the age of 18 self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. If this is your demographic, you know that being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT) doesn't cause depression. It's the dominant culture and larger society's view and treatment of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgendered people that causes problems, and those in the GLBT population can suffer from depression to a greater extent than other demographic sectors.

In 2001, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), in conjunction with the National Coalition for LGBT Health, released Healthy People 2010. They found that, “Many LGBT youth experience feelings of self-hatred, depression, and anxiety as a result of being raised in a society that is condemning and rejecting of mores different from the majority.”

The Wrong Stuff

Beginning in adolescence, GLBT teens are confronted with a confusing barrage of messages and too few positive GLBT role models. Teens, as a rule, have a difficult time establishing and growing into their identities, regardless of sexual orientation. When your identity, who you are at your core, is something society fears, ridicules, persecutes, or at best merely tolerates, the task of growing into healthy adulthood is made all the more difficult.

Since the school culture reflects society at large, GLBT teens may experience harassment and beatings. The sense of being different is reinforced at every turn. Even family may not accept you, and physical and verbal abuse may occur when one comes out or is even suspected of being GLBT.

There have been cases in which teens have been subjected to conversion therapy or reparative therapy by their families in an attempt to change their orientation to heterosexual.

An Historical Turning Point

It wasn't until 1973 that the American Psychological Association (APA) finally reversed its longstanding position and declared, “The research on homosexuality is very clear. Homosexuality is neither mental illness nor moral depravity. It is simply the way a minority of our population expresses human love and sexuality. Studies of judgment, stability, reliability, and social and vocational adaptive-ness all show that gay men and lesbians function every bit as well as heterosexuals.”

Depression and HIV/AIDS

With advances in treatment for HIV/AIDS, many more patients are living with these conditions, as opposed to dying from them. Not only the medications, but also the stigma associated with these conditions, may result in symptoms of depression. It is important to be treated for this depression to improve life quality.

Older Members of the GLBT Community

Chronic depression in the elderly may come from many causes. Repressing and denying one's sexuality may ultimately result in depression. If you are a senior citizen, you grew up in difficult times, when your homosexuality was considered a form of mental illness. You may have kept your sexual orientation a secret, perhaps even from yourself. To come out might have been unthinkable. Possibly even your church condemned you, and a lifetime of conflict takes its toll.

Even today, you may not consider this something to share with a physician. However, it's important that your doctor or nurse practitioner be aware of everything that may affect your health. If you're suffering from depression, the roots may go deep.

Tech Support

Technology can play a significant role in providing support for GLBT teens and adults. Resources, including gay-friendly medical services, counseling for college, career, and life issues, and opportunities for networking, are available online. Still, on an individual, case by case basis, depression affects a disproportionately high percentage of GLBT individuals.