Mental health, lockdown and intersectionality

Mental health, lockdown and intersectionality

Many of us have direct experience of how much harder it is to live when you have intersecting identities, all of which are stigmatised, all of which are stressful to live with, to negotiate with the outside world, and our inner worlds. We know that the coronavirus pandemic is having a disproportionate effect on the health of BAME/PoC (people of colour) communities. We believe it’s also having a disproportionate effect on the mental health of LGBTQ+ BAME/PoC and a disproportionate effect on the mental health of trans communities as well.

For example: X contacted MindOut in 2019 for support with their asylum claim. They had to flee homophobic persecution in their country of origin, they had no choice and fled in fear of their life. Having made it all the way to the UK, they are struggling to come to terms with the uncertainty of waiting to see if they can stay, waiting to see how safe they are, waiting to see if they can settle down here. They have frequent feelings of despair, depression, acute anxiety and panic attacks. They wake in the night from nightmares. They find it hard to talk about their fears, they find it very hard to trust people. In addition, they have no income and no permanent home. They sofa surf and rely on food banks. They have very few friends or acquaintances and find it hard to socialise with other LGBTQ+ people. We have been supporting this client with food parcels from our food bank and reimbursing travel costs to attend MindOut peer support groups. As a PoC fleeing homophobic persecution in their country of origin, they have a lot of fear and anxiety around their sexuality. They said they ‘feel safe and understood’ at MindOut and it’s been crucial that they’ve found support from an LGBTQ+ organisation because they can trust they’re being accepted. They’ve repeatedly said how much being around other LGBTQ+ people has helped reduce their isolation. For the first time in their lives they’re beginning to realise that being LGBTQ+ can be a positive identity. Since the Covid-19 lockdown, they’ve been feeling trapped, unable to move on, feeling much more isolated than when they first arrived in the UK. They went without food for several days and had to borrow money. The MindOut advocacy service helped them to find food from community outlets and to access much needed hardship support. They’re able to join MindOut peer support groups online, ‘a lifeline to helping me feel that someone cares’. Someone contacted our online support service feeling very depressed regarding their immigration case, frustrated at how slow things were now moving and pessimistic about the outcome. They were very ashamed of how they had been using hookup apps to make themselves feel better momentarily, this was the first time they had talked about sex and shame to someone else. By the end of the chat they felt calmer, pleased that they had made contact and less alone. They plan to use the online service for support throughout the Covid crisis while they wait for their immigration case to be resolved. M is trans and has autism. Since the lockdown they’ve been very badly affected by an upstairs neighbour who plays loud music, shouts and occasionally screams. They are very sensitive to noise. Sometimes they can cope, can use distraction and can wait for the neighbour to stop, but at other times the noise is so bad they can hardly bear it. They live alone and feel very alone. At its worst they feel desperate and suicidal. They have a safe plan which they have discussed with

“As a person of colour fleeing homophobic persecution in their country of origin, they have a lot of fear and anxiety around their sexuality. They said they ‘feel safe and understood’ at MindOut and ... for the first time in their lives they’re beginning to realise that being LGBTQ+ can be a positive identity”

MindOut advocacy workers and so far they have managed their suicidal feelings. Shortly after the lockdown started, their appointments with the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) were postponed. This was very disappointing, as they had waited for two years already. They’re very anxious about running out of hormone treatment. M was volunteering at a local community garden, but that’s had to close. They really misses the contact and the sense of purpose. M is often too anxious to leave the house or go food shopping. They’re always wary of strangers after being abused in the street and on public transport. Now the streets are empty they feel like more of a target. They fear getting the distancing rules wrong if they go into a shop. M rang MindOut and we supported them to get access to a food bank delivery within a few days. We supported them to use our online service. Our advocates contacted the GIC to ask that they are seen by the GIC as a matter of priority once the lockdown ends. Like the other people who use our services, M feels a little less alone.

You can contact us at any time for mental health support. We run an online instant chat service, for opening times please see

www.mindout.org.uk

Or you can email us on info@mindout.org.uk or call us on 01273 234839 and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We are running peer support groups, peer mentoring and low cost counselling services online. Please get in touch for more details.

MINDOUT INFO

MindOut services are confidential, nonjudgemental, impartial, independent of mainstream services and open to all. We are run by and for LGBTQ+ people who have experience of mental health issues. We aim to improve the mental wellbeing of LGBTQ+ communities and to reduce health inequality. We do this by: • Listening to and responding to the LGBTQ+ experience of mental health • Offering hope through positive relationships and professional expertise • Preventing isolation, crisis and suicidal distress in LGBTQ+ communities • Providing safe spaces for people to meet and support each other • Helping people protect their rights and get their voices heard • Campaigning and creating conversations about LGBTQ+ mental health throughout the world

MindOut is needed because LGBTQ+ people: • Do not get the support they need for their mental health from mainstream services • Often feel isolated from LGBTQ+ communities • Face additional discrimination, exclusion and minority stress