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Coping with the stress of providing mental health-related informal support to peers in an LGBTQ context
Worrell, Shane Waling, Andrea Anderson, Joel Lyons, Anthony Fairchild, Jackson Bourne, Adam
Worrell, Shane
Waling, Andrea
Anderson, Joel
Lyons, Anthony
Fairchild, Jackson
Bourne, Adam
Abstract
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or gender diverse, or queer-identifying (LGBTQ) people provide informal support to peers experiencing mental ill health. This reflects both the high prevalence of mental ill health in their communities – often a product of discrimination – and barriers to accessing formal services. In this article, we explore how LGBTQ people who help peers with their mental health seek to cope with the stress of providing such support. Drawing on interviews with 25 LGBTQ people in Melbourne, Australia, we consider how community members being ‘leant on’ engage in self-care practices and seek help from their communities to cope with the stress of their support roles. We demonstrate that participants’ ways of coping, even when similar, can vary in effectiveness and often come with limitations. Thus, we conclude that LGBTQ people providing informal support to peers should be better assisted to do so, in ways that acknowledge the diversity of support provided in LGBTQ communities.
Keywords
LGBTQ mental health, LGBTQ health and wellbeing, coping, stress, informal support, informal mental health support, peer support
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Culture, Health & Sexuality
Book
Volume
25
Issue
8
Page Range
991-1006
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled