LGBTQ+ people and anxiety: challenges and ways to cope

Anxiety has become a constant backdrop to our lives. After the Supreme Court granted the Ministry of Justice’s request on 30 November to declare the non-existent “International LGBT Public Movement” extremist, that backdrop became a heavy, constant burden for many LGBTQ+ people.

We feel it when interacting with other people and when we are alone. Together with an Aegis psychologist, we have put together a short article on what anxiety means for LGBTQ+ people and how to get through it with as little distress as possible.

Share this article within your community to help ease the burden of anxiety for people close to you.

LGBTQ+ anxiety: an inside perspective

Anxiety is common among people of all ages and social backgrounds. For members of the LGBTQ+ community, however, it can be a particularly pressing issue. This is linked to the widespread experience of rejecting one’s own identity under pressure from a homophobic society, to personal experiences, and to witnessing similar experiences among people with the same identity every day.

These experiences can lead people to expect a negative reaction to their identity in any interaction, as a matter of course. Their efforts focus not on avoiding social mistakes in general, but specifically on keeping their identity from being discovered.

The fear sounds like: “They’ll realise who I am and start harassing me,” or “Even though they don’t show it, they’ve already worked out who I am, and that’s why they’re hostile towards me, so I can’t trust them.”

Many factors can contribute to anxiety among LGBTQ+ people:

• Discrimination and violence. LGBTQ+ people face discrimination and violence, which can lead to anxiety and worry. If you have experienced this, you can ask Aegis for emergency support by filling in the form.
• Concealment. Many LGBTQ+ people are forced to hide their orientation or identity for fear of judgement or violence. This can lead to isolation, loneliness and anxiety.
• Lack of acceptance. LGBTQ+ people who do not receive support from family or friends may feel lonely and isolated, which can contribute to anxiety.

Anxiety can take different forms. Some people experience physical symptoms such as a racing heart, sweating or nausea. Others may experience worry, insomnia or difficulty concentrating.

Different kinds of anxiety

Temporary, or situational, anxiety is an unpleasant emotion involving uncertainty and apprehension. It arises in response to a real or imagined threat in a particular situation. For LGBTQ+ people, this anxiety is often justified: there are real reasons to worry — uncertainty, homophobic Russian laws and a broader climate of prejudice in society, cloaked in so-called “traditional values”.

Being justified does not make it any less intrusive.

Situational anxiety can be useful. It can motivate people to improve their personal safety, awareness and caution. However, if it becomes too intense or lasts too long, it can have a negative impact on their lives.

Trait anxiety is an enduring tendency to experience anxiety. It can stem from genetic factors, upbringing, development or adverse experiences.

Trait anxiety refers to a stable individual characteristic: a predisposition to perceive a wide range of situations as threatening and respond to each in a particular way.

For the purposes of this article, it does not matter whether the anxiety we are dealing with is situational or a personality trait. These definitions are here to help you distinguish between different kinds of anxiety and recognise your own experience.

Our main aim is to understand how to reduce this background anxiety and try to find sources of strength and support.

What is anxiety for?

Our bodies work in such a way that everything has a function. Anxiety involves the amygdala, a small region of the brain that processes emotions related to danger, rapidly assesses situations and determines whether they pose a threat. If they do, it sends signals to other parts of the brain, producing physical and emotional changes such as a racing heart, sweating and fear.

Anxiety is an unpleasant, uncomfortable feeling, but the feeling itself cannot directly harm you. Relocation, warfare, and homophobic and transphobic laws affecting LGBTQ+ people make it harder to predict the future, creating background anxiety. Worrying and imagining frightening scenarios in these circumstances is normal and natural. Like any emotional experience, anxiety draws attention to something important about a person’s current situation.

What does anxiety urge us to do?
Run away and avoid danger.

Why does it arise?
To protect us from danger that is still some way off and can be avoided.

Feeling anxious as an LGBTQ+ person in Russia or from Russia is normal and understandable. It is a healthy response to events, laws, personal experiences and the experiences of others in the community. First and foremost, do not blame yourself for feeling it.

Coping with tension: anxiety with and without a real threat

Anxiety is justified when there is a threat to life, health or wellbeing that directly affects you or people who matter to you.

When anxiety is justified, our first priorities are to:

• avoid the source of the threat;
• remove the source of the threat;
• if that is not possible, increase our control over the situation and our ability to cope with it.

We suggest asking yourself more often: how can I look after myself? What am I overlooking? Which of my needs is not being met right now?

When struggling with anxiety, some people try to ease tension in counterproductive ways: compulsively checking the news, running through the most frightening scenarios in their heads, eating to soothe anxiety or turning to alcohol.

These strategies are probably no longer working; otherwise, you would not be feeling constantly anxious. A more effective approach is to turn towards the anxiety. It needs space, so that it stops making life harder.

Here are some ways to do this:

• Describe the anxious feeling: where it is, its size, colour and shape, and how it moves through your body.
• Focus on bodily sensations. Notice your breathing and posture, and allow yourself to experience those sensations without judging them.
• If you can solve the problem, address it rather than avoiding it. Finding a solution to a difficult situation is better than trying to suppress anxiety.
• Avoid activities that drain you. Go for a walk instead of reading the news.
• Do something enjoyable: hug someone close to you, immerse yourself in a game, read or enjoy a cup of tea. Doing things despite anxiety increases activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive thinking, and reduces activity in the amygdala.

If anxiety is not justified by a real threat or is unhelpful — meaning there is no direct threat to your or your loved ones’ life, health or wellbeing — we use opposite actions. Examples might include putting off a difficult task, being afraid to make an everyday phone call, attending a job interview, or telling someone you know to be safe that you like them.

• Choose to engage with topics, places, events, tasks, objects and people that cause anxiety; resist avoidance.
• Repeat the things that make you anxious. Take small steps to gain more control over the situation and build resilience.
• Look, listen and assess the situation carefully. Try to gather as much information as possible and identify the level of risk accurately, paying particular attention to signs of safety.
• Cool your body down with a cool drink, air conditioning or fresh air.
• Change your posture: lift your head and gaze, and straighten your shoulders. If you are gripping something tightly, let go and relax your hands.
• Change your facial expression: lower your eyebrows to their resting position and let your eyelids partly close.
• Breathe deeply, making your exhalation longer.
• Speak confidently, deliberately lowering the pitch of your voice.

Joining a community of people with similar or shared identities can be a valuable way for LGBTQ+ people to prevent anxiety. Being able to discuss needs and emotions openly, and share views and ways of life with people who have similar experiences, helps ease background anxiety and provides support.

These are some basic practical tools to help reduce background anxiety and find the strength to live beyond it.

Share this article with other LGBTQ+ people, and take care of yourself ❤️