Resources

Books for: 

Couples: Attached, 8 Rules of Love 

Trauma: 

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LGBTQ+ and Trauma

 

It is common for folks within the LGBTQ+ community to experience higher levels of traumatic events. The traumatic and adverse experiences that folks within the community face can have tremendous impacts on one’s mental health. Some impactful factors and experiences the LGBTQ+ community faces include: 

• bullying

• harassment

• traumatic loss

• intimate partner violence

• physical and sexual abuse

• traumatic forms of societal stigma, bias, and rejection

• violence 

• hate crimes 

• microtraumas/microaggressions

• discrimination

• inequalities in healthcare 

• family rejection 

• negative portrayals in media and politics 

Folks within the LGBTQ+ community are more likely than non-queer Canadians to experience physical or sexual assault and are more than twice as likely to experience inappropriate sexual behaviours in public, online or at work (StatsCan, 2018). LGBTQ+ people of color, particularly transgender folks, are disproportionately affected by hate-crimes.

These experiences accumulate and lead to higher levels of psychological distress and can lead to people feeling unsafe in their home, town or city, or relationships. These traumatic events can impact the well-being of individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community and have long-lasting negative effects on their physical and emotional wellness.

internalized phobia, rejection sensitivity, marginalization, and discrimination both in their personal life and health care setting

• Fear avoidance 

• Social Anxiety 

• Emotional Dysregulation 

• Body Dysmorphia 

 

Feeling different 

low self-esteem, anxiety, stress, depression,

- hypervigilance, masking self

We as people also tend to internalize societal views and can find ourselves facing our own internalized queerphobia, transphobia and homophobia. 

Building self compassion and relationship to self and identity can help us grow in our journey to challenging our own internalized views, supporting and accepting our community more. 

Build resilience and growth. 

 

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200909/dq200909a-eng.htm

 

ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 

 

• Learn how to unhook from your inner critic

• Engage in more life-enhancing activities 

• Identify and connect to your values

• Notice and name the common inner critic stories you might experience 

• Explore past experiences and apply a lens of understanding where stories have developed or shaped throughout experiences. 

 

If you want to know more about ACT visit:  https://www.actmindfully.com.au/

 

https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/diversity/education/stress-and-trauma/lgbtq

 

Youtube Videos: 

• The Evolution of the Human Brain: 

• The Struggle Switch: 

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