Are you struggling with who you are?
Internalised shame and a lack of self-acceptance can significantly impact mental health. The journey towards thriving starts with talking it out with someone you trust. Tell your story. Live your life. You’re not alone.
In recent years, significant progress has been made in the tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ (queer) community in Irish society. However, queer people may still experience a significant degree of prejudice and harassment, which can in turn negatively affect mental health and well-being.
Queer people may experience difficulties ‘coming out’ to their family, friends, and work colleagues due to the stigma still attached to LGBTQ+ identity. Sometimes, queer people can experience isolation, a lack of self-acceptance, and a sense of shame in who they are due to expectations placed upon them by society.
However, there is a plethora of resources available to this community in modern Irish society, and the journey towards thriving as a member of the queer community starts with self-acceptance and self-compassion.
When it comes to acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, it is also important to note that a lack of societal understanding may be a roadblock to acceptance.
Here is a glossary of some LGBTQ+ terms.
| LGBTQ | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning/Queer People |
| + | The ‘plus’ is used to signify all the gender identities and sexual orientations that are not specifically covered by the other five initials. |
| Sexual Orientation | Someone’s emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction to other people |
| Gender Identity | Someone’s personal sense of their own gender |
| Gender Expression | How we show our gender through our clothing, hair, and behaviour etc. |
| Transgender | A term describing a person’s gender identity that does not match their assigned sex at birth. This word is also used as an umbrella term to describe some groups of people who transcend conventional expectations of gender identity or expression. |
| Non-Binary | People whose gender identity is neither exclusively woman or man or is in between or beyond the gender binary. |
| Intersex | An umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations that do not fit the typical binary notions of male and female bodies. |
| Cisgender | Someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. |
| Queer | An umbrella term used to describe people who are not heterosexual and/or cisgender. Queer was used as a slur against the LGBTQ+ community for many years and still can be. However, the word has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community and many now embrace the term. Check if someone is comfortable with this term before referring to them as queer. |
| Coming Out | For LGBTQ+ people, coming out is the process of sharing your sexual orientation and/or your gender identity with people in your life |
| Homophobia | Discrimination against and/or fear of lesbian and gay people (including those perceived to be gay or lesbian). This also includes the perpetuation of negative myths and stereotypes through jokes and/or through personal negative thoughts about lesbian and gay people. |
(For full glossary, please see this resource from BelongTo) https://www.belongto.org/app/uploads/2023/09/Belong-To-Education-Resource-Glossary-2023.pdf )
For more information about LGBTQ+ issues and supports, please see the resources below.
References & Resources
Belong To. (2023). Education Resource: Glossary of Terms.
Retrieved from: https://www.belongto.org/app/uploads/2023/09/Belong-To-Education-Resource-Glossary-2023.pdf
Belong To. (2024). Support Services.
Retrieved from: https://www.belongto.org/support-for-me/support-services/
LGBT Ireland. (2018). Look After Your Mental Health.
Retrieved from: https://lgbt.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/attachment_233_Look_after_your_mental_health.pdf
LGBT Ireland. (2022). Mental Health.
Retrieved from: https://lgbt.ie/get-information/mental-health/
SpunOut. (2024). Information and Supports on LGBTI+.
Retrieved from: https://spunout.ie/category/lgbti/
TENI. (2021). Access Support Services.
Retrieved from: https://teni.ie/supports/
Helplines
Aware – 1800 80 48 48
Childline Ireland – 1800 66 66 66
Grow – 0818 474 474
LGBT Ireland Helpline – 1800 929 539
Pieta House – 1800 247 247
Samaritans Ireland – 116 123
Switchboard – 01 872 1055