Does staying in the closet hurt gay progress

For many in Indonesia, coming out is not an option. Living in the closet means when one hasn’t come out or accepted their sexuality or identity publicly. While coming out of the closet can be a powerful and affirming experience, it also carries significant risks in how individuals are perceived by those around them.

Lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals who were out to family and friends had lower levels of psychiatric symptoms and lower morning cortisol levels than those who were still in the closet ” The study found that LGBT people who needs to ‘fight-for-life” and their rights develop better coping skills and strategies to deal with social stressors.

Things are worse at her university. Kaka thinks being out would help her depression and anxiety. LGBTQ Closet Living For the LGBTQ+ community, being in the closet means hiding sexual orientation or gender identity from individuals or groups of people – family members, fellow students, co-workers, and more.

It was their attempt to separate her from her girlfriend at the time. The impacts of staying in the closet Sometimes, it can feel easier to stay concealed than come out as gay to family members, coworkers, and friends.

Studies have shown that gay men are six times more likely to suffer from depression than straight men and bisexual and lesbian women have a higher rate of mental health issues than straight women. She always had fits of depressive episodes and self-esteem problems, but was usually able to handle them on her own.

Kaka, not her real name, identifies as a lesbian woman. For her, publicly coming out has never been an option.

The Closet Psychological Issues

She struggles with anxiety and depression and is in therapy to help her deal with these issues. And for those who remain closeted, it often means leading a double life, with all of the negative mental health issues and emotional anxiety that come with that.

Here, read what living in the closet means and how it may impact one’s mental health. Most of my friends are open-minded and have different sexual identities, so I am not always conscious of how much shit the general public gives LGBTQ people day to day.

LGBTQ people struggling with mental illnesses face compounded stigma, as a result many choose to stay in the closet. Feeling uncomfortable at home, she can only find acceptance in her close circle of friends. I feel appreciated in the classroom.

She feels that being in the closet about her homosexuality has hurt her mental health. While studying psychology at her university, she started questioning herself, exploring and dating girls on and off until she realized that she was a lesbian.

I believe spending your childhood, teens and young adult life hiding a core part of identity has long term impacts (both negative and positive) on your psyche and personality, other than commonly-known. Why is being myself so wrong?

They feel like being in the closet will protect them from problems, but often this leads to further mental health issues. Around the time she started her masters, the episodes became more frequent, which prompted her to seek out a therapist. Along with being strict muslims, her parents played a part in her traumatic childhood—where she was often beaten—which lead her to decide to keep her sexuality hidden from family and friends.

Acha was in high school when she realized she had a crush on another girl.

Coming Out of the

Life in the closet. TLDR: For gay bros that are out of the closet - how do you think your time in the closet has impacted you in the long term? Kaka recalls the time a classmate asked about her sexual orientation. Kaka tells me that teaching makes her feel better.

How many years did you spend in the closet vs out of the closet? After meeting people with similar experiences, she found that sharing stories with them helped her get better. Acha was sent abroad by her strict Christian parents after they found out about her homosexuality.

She dreams of being able to tell her family about her love stories, and maybe her parents would finally stop bugging her about finding a man to marry.