Pride and Emotional Wellness

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New to holistic wellness? Start here: FSC Counseling Center Emotional Wellness Module!

  • What it means to engage in Emotional Wellness per the National Wellness Institute4:

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  • Using skills/strategies to recognize, appreciate, and navigate our emotions
  • Accepting and expressing our feelings in a non-judgemental way
  • Recognizing how our emotional wellness impacts others, allowing us to build trust and respect others4

"Emotional wellness follows these tenets:
• It is better to be aware of and accept our feelings than to deny them.
• It is better to be optimistic in our approach to life than pessimistic."4

  • How You Can Attend to Your Emotional Wellness at FSC
    • Discussion Presentation: Emotional Wellness and Values Download Discussion Presentation: Emotional Wellness and Values
    • To get started, set aside time (without distractions!) to review what brings you a sense of satisfaction or fulfillment in life. Then ask yourself, "If I do one thing today that would align with what I value, what would it be?" This can be a small act such as, taking a walk by the lake (bonus points if you take a friend to engage in Emotional, Physical, and Social wellness!) or journaling what you are grateful for. Emotional Wellness is a mindful, intentional act that we engage in. Our emotional needs can be fulfilled in many ways and can be unique to each person. Reflect on times in your life you felt happy, supported, motivated. These can be people, places, and/or things that you want to incorporate more of into your life.
    • If you are facing challenges such as not knowing exactly how you want to express your gender identify, feeling a sense of disconnect from your physical self and emotional self, or other LGBTQ+ focused concerns, these are critical to focus on! Our identity, expression, and orientation can all play a role in our Emotional Wellness. If you are questioning this or more it is important to give yourself space to explore these topics. If you don't have a safe friend, peer, family member, etc. to reach out to, we encourage you to connect with the FSC Counseling Center for free specialized support.
      • Call us: 863-680-6236
      • Email us: counsel@flsouthern.edu
      • Stop by Mon-Fri, 8AM-5PM. We are located on the 1st Floor of the Thrift Building (enter through the health center hallway).
    • Seek out and attend an LGBTQ focused event/activity. This may include attending an Allies Links to an external site. meeting on campus event to connect with peers that align with your values, interests, etc.
    • Don't forget to review the local Links to an external site.resources Links to an external site.around Central Florida to attend a show/event/Group that is Pride focused.

 

  • Historical Barriers to Emotional Wellness within the LGBTQ+ Community
    • Initially, mental healthcare was not supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and inadvertently increased stigma surrounding homosexuality. In 1952, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) listed homosexuality as a disorder. 
    • According to Psychiatry.org, "Despite advances in LGBTQ rights and acceptance, stigma, both internal and external, continues to be the greatest problem facing sexual and gender minorities. Many LGBTQ people develop an internalized homophobia that can contribute to problems with self-acceptance, anxiety, depression, difficulty forming intimate relationships, and being open about what sexual orientation or gender identity one actually has. Externally, stigma may be exhibited by the surrounding society..."1
    • Timeline of events from Psychiatry.org

      DSM-I (1952) Homosexuality is listed as a sociopathic personality disturbance.

      DSM-II (1968) Homosexuality continues to be listed as a mental disorder

      DSM-II (1974) Homosexuality is no longer listed as a category of disorder. The diagnosis is replaced with the category of “sexual orientation disturbance”.

      DSM-III (1980) The diagnosis of ego-dystonic homosexuality replaces the DSM-II category of “sexual orientation disturbance.”Introduces gender identity disorder.

      DSM-III-R (1987) Ego-dystonic homosexuality is removed and replaced by “sexual disorder not otherwise specified,” which can include “persistent and marked distress about one’s sexual orientation.”

      DSM-V (current) Includes a separate, non-mental disorder diagnoses of gender dysphoria to describer people who experience significant distress with the sex and gender they were assigned at birth.

  • Current Mental Wellness challenges faced within the LGBTQ+ community
    • Updated statistics Links to an external site.from The Trevor Project 2022 survey indicated that anxiety and depression symptoms are on the rise for youth within the LGBTQ+ community. Risk of suicide is also on the rise.2
      • 45% of LGBTQ youth  seriously considered suicide in the last year
      • 14% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide in the last year
      • 73% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety
      • 58% LGBTQ youth reported experiencing symptoms of depression
      • 60% of LGBTQ youth who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to get it
    • According to The Trevor Project Links to an external site., individuals cite conversion therapy, minority stress, discrimination, physical threats of violence, and lack of support/affirming spaces to contribute to their negative symptoms3 

 

  • The future of Pride and Mental Health
    • Today, we have made significant progress within the field of Psychiatry and Therapy. Professionals now have the ability to engage in LGBTQ+ specific training to become advocates/allies to the community. Establishing an understanding of the community is just the start. To truly elicit change we must engage in advocacy.  This can be done by promoting a sense of safety and support for the LGBTQ+ community. Individuals can seek out up to date information about the LGBTQ+ community and then share updated information with the public. Allies are encouraged to gently correct misinformation as it arises.
        • At the FSC Counseling Center Links to an external site. the staff all identify as Allies. The FSC Counseling Center, located on the 1st floor of the Thrift Building, is identified as a Safe Zone on campus. We offer gender neutral bathrooms, ability to list preferred names and designated pronouns for use within the Counseling Center, and offer support groups specific to the LGBTQ+ community.
        • Additionally, you can find Safe Zones on campus by looking for the Safe Zone Ally name cards outside of offices/classrooms. A well known student focused Safe Zone on campus is the Simmons Center. Links to an external site.
  • Creating a culture of caring, promoting safety, and acceptance may help reduce mental health risks within the LGBTQ community
    • "LGBTQ youth who felt high social support from their family reported attempting suicide at less than half the rate of those who felt low or moderate social support."2
    • "LGBTQ youth who live in a community that is accepting of LGBTQ people reported significantly lower rates of attempting suicide than those who do not."2

 

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