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当我决定写这个博客时，我希望写一些令人振奋的东西，因为骄傲月是一个庆祝的时期。我决心找到有关LGBTQ Health进步的最近发表的文章。在浏览了BMC的185篇有关医学和公共卫生期刊的所有相关期刊之后，我的结果令人失望。我在LGBTQ Health上发现的所有文章都画了一幅令人沮丧的图片。

The articles I found addressed either LGBTQ health disparities or the challenges in obtaining health care. Article after article discussed how LGBTQ individuals experience greater rates of mental health issues compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

It is crucial that we know what these health issues are, where they are found, and their etiological underpinnings. As I proceeded with my research, it became clear that the poor mental health amongst LGBTQ individuals could be attributed to stigma, three types in particular: enacted stigma, felt stigma, and internalized stigma.

There is a 34.9% lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation amongst MSM. This rate increases to 42.6% when looking at populations from high income countries.

Enacted stigma includes overt behaviors of prejudice and victimization. Felt stigma involves the psychological impact of rejection as well as concealing one’s sexual orientation. Internalized stigma, or internalized homophobia, involves LGBTQ individuals having negative feelings towards homosexuality and their own sexual orientation. One study conducted in Germany found that all three forms of stigma werepositively correlated with mental health issues.

幸运的是，最近有advances in LGBTQ rights and acceptance在西方世界内。但是，这些进步在世界其他地区（例如中国）不存在。

Studies have shown that rates of internalized stigma are higher in men who have sex with men (MSM) in China than in other countries. It was also found that amongst Chinese MSM, higher rates of internalized homophobia are associated withhigher rates of psychological distress.

在LGBTQ小组面临的心理健康问题的所有后续影响中，自杀是最大的问题。在加拿大，suicideis the number one cause of premature mortality amongst MSM.一项荟萃分析found that there is a 34.9% lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation amongst MSM. This rate increases to 42.6% when looking at populations from high income countries.

与唯一的异性恋同行相比，性少数妇女不仅经历了更严重的心理健康，而且还经历了更高的人际暴力率。

MSM are not the only LGBTQ population that experience poor mental health. This pattern also occurs in sexual minority women. These findings primarily come by comparing exclusively heterosexual women to sexual minority women. Unfortunately there are few studies examining subsets of sexual minority women, which include mainly heterosexuals, bisexuals, and lesbians.

In an Australian study与唯一的异性恋同行相比，性少数妇女不仅经历了更严重的心理健康，而且还经历了更高的人际暴力率。进一步关注的是，双性恋女性的压力，焦虑症状和抑郁症的水平最高，同时具有最低水平的心理健康和生活满意度。

还发现来自某些人群的性和性别少数群体会经历更高的心理健康状况率。性工作者经历了高度的暴力和性健康脆弱性，但是缺乏有关该人群的心理健康的研究。

加拿大性工作者的研究发现有49％的性工作者被诊断出患有心理健康状况。当研究人员进一步深入研究数据时，他们发现确定是性和/或性别少数群体是获得心理健康诊断的重要预测指标。

Pride is unique because it is a time to celebrate love and acceptance; a time when literally all the colors of the rainbow permeate the streets.

For many, this is a reprieve from the day-to-day challenges that many LGBTQ individuals experience. It is a way to provide support and encouragement to these people who are in such desperate need of support and acceptance.

我们不能忽视这个社区在世界范围内面临的危险，以及污名如何导致数百万的人精神健康，精神病，自杀的念头，甚至是自杀死亡的危险，但通过在骄傲期间集会，LGBTQ个人有机会不仅拥抱自己的真实自我，而且还为保护自己和他人免受世界范围内面临的挑战而奋斗。