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To be clear, homosexuality is not considered a form of mental illness by mainstream psychiatry and psychology, but it doesn't mean that people who are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and intersexual don't have mental health concerns.

Most research authors agree that compared to the heterosexual population, gays and lesbians have a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, drug and alcohol dependence, self-injury, OCD and PTSD. They also have higher rates of experiencing violence, including hate crimes and domestic abuse (Dean 2000, King 2008).

The apparent reason behind these comparatively higher rates of LGBT mental health problems is the stigma and discrimination LGBT people face day in and day out. Just as for anyone else, higher levels of stress increases the risk for developing mental health problems.

In our LGBT information center, we delve into these mental health issues. We also discuss other areas of interest to the LGBT population including coming out gay, what it means to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and how to deal with gay discrimination and stigma.

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