Celebrating Pride Month: the mental health challenges facing LGBT+ youth

I’m originally from a seaside city called Sopot on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Poland – not far from the more well-known city of Gdansk. I moved to the UK and have been working at Mosaic Trust for nearly 20 years. My background is in social work, social psychology and social pedagogy – more simply defined as the method and practice of teaching - so you can see the pattern and why I was interested in working here.  

I would say yes. It was lonely at times when I was growing up. Sopot is quite a small place, and LGBT+ rights in Poland are more limited than in the UK, therefore being part of the LGBT+ community wasn’t easy. I was the only gay person I knew until my late teens, but I didn’t let it get me down. I am a person who has always focused on others and I spent much of my time volunteering and focusing on extracurricular activities to distract myself. When I found my community, I made sure to build friendships that will continue to last a lifetime. 

I think the biggest misconception about mental health today is that it has to be protected and sheltered at all times. I don’t agree. As with physical health, I think we should exercise our mental health - move out of our comfort zones and do things that challenge us and make us think. Often, it’s too easy for us to label other people that we don’t agree with or find challenging as ‘toxic’. But not every stress or difficulty deserves a diagnosis. Human beings are amazing and we are capable of extraordinary achievements – often the biggest obstacle to success is ourselves. 

I think self-awareness is a good starting point when thinking about our own mental health and wellbeing. I'm an ambivert so somewhere on the scale of being an extravert or introvert. I demonstrate traits from both sides depending on the situation of social setting. Sometimes I just need time to myself and other times I really need social interaction. Listening and being mindful of your own resources and stretching them on occasions is a good way to learn to do things that sometimes feel uneasy. In the long terms, this helps us to build resilience and to grow.

In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges young LGBT+ people face today stems from the very recent UK Supreme Court ruling on gender definition and recognition. which I see as a significant threat to the rights of the trans community here. This, together with the lack of accessible gender services places enormous pressure on the community and inevitably has an impact on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing.

Forming genuine and lasting friendship groups is also an issue for young people in general, but especially for young LGBT+ people with the huge growth in and reliance on social media, particularly amongst Gen Z. Taking friendships and communications almost entirely online not only impacts on traditional community spaces, but also removes that basic human behaviour of face-to-face or in-person interaction. This, paired with the ‘information overload’ that most of us receive on a daily basis through social media of fake news and the ‘pretend’ glamorous lives of others can cause anxiety, stress and low mood as we inadvertently compare ourselves to others - a combustible mixture for our mental health and wellbeing. 

Isolation is real and you might feel alone even if you are surrounded by people. We constantly seek our tribe - a place where we can be really, truly, authentically ourselves. It’s important you come and connect with other LGBT+ people – particular through things such as community groups or events. Join in with fun activities while learning about our community’s amazing culture.

As I said before, mental health needs to be exercised. If you feel anxious about coming to a group the best way to conquer that fear is to do exactly that. I read a book a long time ago ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ by Susan Jeffers and it taught me to try new things and not let fear dictate my life. I also read ‘5 second rule’ by Mel Robbins that teaches us to do extraordinary things before we talk ourselves out of it. If you do want to go and say hi to someone, do it. We are our own worst critic and as long as we don’t harm ourselves or anyone else we can have fun and fulfilling lives. 

Here at Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons’ Trust, we offer a wide range of great services for young persons age 12-18 and young adults 18-25. There are groups where you can meet people like you, make friends and take part in fun activities, including events such as Pride Prom and residentials like Summer Camp amongst others.