Rising Above OCD from a LGBTQ+ Perspective at Rogers Behavioral Health| Angelina’s Story
come on colby can we walk i think i’ve struggled with mental health issues my whole life i kind of came to the forefront when i was in middle school i started dealing with some anxiety type symptoms panic symptoms feelings of sickness and worries about my health and getting sick i eventually found my way to a therapist it wasn’t really the focus treatment that i needed at the time so i continued to struggle with my mental health i began to struggle with some depressive symptoms some issues with self-harm and suicidality it was in the spring semester of my freshman year of high school that my family discovered rogers and at rogers i was able to get specialized treatment for what i now know to be my ocd and somatic symptom disorder i am very afraid of death and dying i think that’s kind of my core fear i still struggle every day with somatic symptom disorder ocd depressive symptoms however i have come to a place where i am more accepting of my condition i’m more able to work through things thanks to a lot of the skills i learned in treatment and in outpatient therapy as well one thing i experienced in treatment at rogers was experiential therapy which is an activities based therapy i was able to face some of my fears in a way that was a little bit fun so for me today some things that help me are getting outside and doing adventure based activities i’ve actually been skydiving recently and i plan on doing many more things like that i want to try paragliding hang gliding and scuba diving our family’s economic privilege to be able to have access to that mental health care and a lot of people don’t have that and as i’m a member of the lgbtq plus community i feel especially lucky to be able to have access to mental health care and to have a supportive family because a lot of minorities including the lgbtq community struggle to have equal access to quality mental health care and rogers has always been completely encouraging of my identities and supportive and helping me come out to my family something i’m grateful for is the fact that my parents have been open and accepting of my mental health issues and have helped me as a child as an adolescent to seek out that quality mental health care and treatment that is open and affirming to my identities as well angelina’s situation came on quite quickly and having been a police officer for many years it was for me hard because as a police officer you’re always you know in a situation where you’re being called somewhere because you need to fix the problem but when it happened in my own home i felt helpless and i felt like well i’m a police officer i can work with other people to fix their problems but how am i going to do it for myself and so it really made me think differently about mental health and our society and how it impacts you know people and families many many people go without those resources we’re grateful that we have them and that we have access to them near in our backyard practically very near to where we live one of my life goals is to be a mental health advocate to destigmatize mental illness the semicolon project is kind of this idea that semicolon sort of represents in writing where an author may have chosen to end the sentence but they decided to continue it by placing a semicolon and the idea sort of is an analogy that transfers over to life where someone may have wanted to end things in their life but they choose to keep going so that’s the semicolon tattoo that i have just to kind of help remind me of the fact that even when times are hard i don’t want to give up the lgbtq community and lgbtq youth are more likely to struggle with things like anxiety depression and other mental health disorders and suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts just because of things like bullying and discrimination and i just want to send out a message of hope things can get better and that we can work through our fears i hope in the future to complete my bachelor’s degree in psychology and eventually go to grad school for mental health counseling i’d really like to work with youth with things like anxiety ocd and health related anxieties as well she’s just a shining light in the world i think she’s going to make a great influence on a lot of people’s lives and she already has treatment has helped me so much rogers has helped me so much i just hope to one day be able to help others and give back like people have helped me
https://rogersbh.org/about-us/newsroom/blog/how-mental-health-impacts-lgbtq-community
While mental health is an important topic that deserves increased awareness in all communities, the LGBTQ+ community is experiencing an especially large number of individuals dealing with mental health struggles. In fact, studies show that adults who identify as LGBTQ+ are more than twice as likely as the rest of the population to face a mental health condition.
As the mental health community continues to improve access to care for all people, Rogers creates an environment of acceptance for potential patients from the very beginning. When patients begin their telephone screening, they are asked their gender identity, preferred name, and preferred pronouns so staff may address them correctly. Throughout treatment, staff seek to understand their patients’ life experiences to ensure that they feel heard and validated.
While the field has made strides to reach all who are affected by mental health concerns, there is still a need to raise awareness and reduce stigma around receiving mental healthcare in all populations.
If you or someone you know is struggling, Rogers can help. Visit rogersbh.org or call 800-767-4411.
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