LGBTQIA+ Minority Stress and How it Affects Mental Health

Those in the LGBTQIA+ community face many stressors that impact everyday life. The community faces numerous unique pressures and stressors. There is not just one event, but ongoing vigilance and emotional labor of living in a stigmatizing society.

The minority stress model explains how stigma and prejudice create unique stressors for marginalized groups. These include direct experiences of discrimination, anticipating or fearing prejudice, hiding one’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and internalizing negative societal attitudes. Sexual minority stress is a distinct form of stress that stems from societal conditions marked by anti-gay stigma and prejudice, placing sexual minority individuals under additional stress beyond what their heterosexual peers experience.

Minority stress is not just related to one’s sexual or gender identity, but it can overlap with race, disabilities, or other forms of oppression.  

Examples of LGBTQIA+ Minority Stress in Everyday Life
Anticipating discrimination: Worrying about how people will react if you come out or disclose your pronouns. If you continue to experience discrimination, it makes sense that you start to anticipate it. Hypevigilance can be extremely mentally taxing and distressing. Even if you haven’t personally faced discrimination, the worry that it could happen can still have a significant impact on your emotional well-being.
Concealment: Feeling pressure to hide your identity at work, school, or family gatherings. LGBTQ+ individuals may hide parts of their identity or intentionally alter their voice, appearance, or mannerisms to seem straight or cisgender. Although these strategies can sometimes offer protection from discrimination, the act of concealment itself is another form of minority stress. Concealment can be immensely draining and can lead to mental health difficulties. 
Microaggressions: Microaggressions are verbal, environmental, or behavioral actions (intentional or unintentional) that are hostile toward oppressed and targeted groups. Hearing invalidating comments like “you don’t look gay” or “that’s just a phase” can weigh heavily on someone. 
Internalized stigma: Living in a primarily heterosexual and cisgender society can invalidate LGBTQIA+ experiences. This can lead to adopting those anti-LGBTQIA+ beliefs, whether consciously or unconsciously. Shame is also a heavily experienced emotion because of how past experiences with family, peers, religious communities, or other cultural groups have gone. Negative self-concept can also result from these experiences, which in turn can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety. 
Fluidity and Identity
Even though labels can be liberating for some, they can feel like a box for others, especially if they haven't figured out their own identity and how they want to be perceived, or how they change their identity to fit their ideal perception.

How Minority Stress Affects Mental and Physical Health
Mental Health

• An increase in hypervigilance and anxiety
  
• Depression
  
• Shame
  
• Self-doubt
  
• Difficulty trusting others or forming relationships
  

Physical Health

• Sleep issues
  
• Fatigue
  
• Decreases in the immune system
  
• Changes in blood pressure and heart rate
  

Ways to Cope and Heal

• Identifying the minority stress you experience and how it may be affecting you
  
• Support from friends, especially in the queer community. These friends can provide empathetic listening, relate to experiences, help navigate identity exploration, and assist in overcoming. Chosen families are also crucial systems of mutual support. 
  
• Cultural identity and representation play a powerful role in fostering pride and resilience. 
  
• Exerscise 
  
• Counseling, psychotherapy, or support groups
  
• Journaling or reading
  
• Activism, which can be uplifting and has been linked to greater self-esteem and a stronger sense of personal empowerment, particularly for queer-identifying people
  
• Creative or artistic pursuits
  
• Mindfulness and meditation
  

Connections in Milwaukee

• CHOSEN Events: https://www.chsnevents.com/ 
  
• Trans Liberation Milwaukee
  
• Milwaukee Trans Health
  
• Milwaukee Community Center: https://www.mkelgbt.org/ 
  
• Sun-Seeker MKE 
  

Intersectionality
People who have multiple marginalized identities (LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, disabled, neurodivergent, etc) face many layers and forms of stress. Culture and religion play a role in affecting people of color more often than not in the LGBTQIA+ community. It can be exhausting trying to get others to change their belief systems to be accepting, so understanding what you can control is crucial. Finding that balance, while also being true to yourself, can be difficult. Recognizing how each part of your identity intersects and understanding that all of your experiences are valid and complex will help you understand yourself on a deeper level.

References:
Adeyeba, M., Calvetti, S., Lockett, G., Sostre, J., Slay, L., Goldbach, J. T., & Kipke, M. D. (2025). Intersecting Identities: Exploring stigma, minority stress, resilience, and identity in sexual and gender diverse youths of color. SSM- Mental Health, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100458
Fehling, K. (2024, March 11). LGBTQ+ Mental Health and the Role of Minority Stress. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/building-a-life-worth-living/202403/lgbtq-mental-health-and-the-role-of-minority-stress 
Flentje, A., Heck, N. C., Brennan, J. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2019). The relationship between minority stress and biological outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-019-00120-6 
Xu, Y., Hall, W. J., Scott, M., Gao, Y., Chiang, P.-C., Williams, D. Y., Srivastava, A., Ramon, M. E., & Englert, A. R. (2024). Strategies for coping with minority stress among queer young adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(10), 1052. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21081052
Women in Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (n.d.). A Guide to Responding to Microaggressions. https://wie.grainger.illinois.edu/current-students/additional-resources/guide-to-microaggressions

​

We’re excited to highlight a valued member of our team, Ben Mattson, APSW, a therapist whose work is rooted in compassion, curiosity, and a deep respect for the human experience. With a thoughtful, collaborative approach and a strong commitment to affirming care, Ben brings warmth, authenticity, and a steady presence to the therapy space.
​
Join us as we take a closer look at who Ben is as a therapist and as a human.

Ben's path to becoming a therapist began with a desire to help others navigate mental health with care and gentleness. He was especially drawn to models of support that embodied calm, grounded masculinity and emotional presence. Later in life, when Ben came out as transgender, the support he received from his own therapist and close friends became transformational. Through that experience, he realized they wanted to offer that same kind of steady, affirming support to others—especially those navigating identity, transition, and change.
“I want to be an example that trans people belong in every field,” Ben shares, “and that we can grow older and have good, meaningful lives.”

At the heart of Ben’s work is the belief that therapy is a collaborative journey—two people working together to make sense of how life experiences have shaped emotional and behavioral responses.
He often describes emotions as feeling like a tangled knot. Rather than rushing to “fix” things, therapist and client gently pull at the threads together, slowly creating space for clarity, understanding, and change. Healing happens piece by piece, at a pace that honors the client’s capacity and lived reality.

Ben is especially passionate about working with people navigating life transitions—experiences that can arise again and again throughout our lives. These may include:

• career changes
• starting or finishing school
• grief and loss
• gender- and sexuality-related exploration or transition
• other major life shifts

He understands that transitions can be disorienting, emotional, and deeply meaningful—and that support during these times can make all the difference.

Ben brings curiosity and humility into every session, approaching clients’ experiences with openness rather than assumptions. Kindness and honesty are central to their work, and when relevant, they are transparent about how broader economic, political, and social realities impact mental health.
Clients can expect a therapist who is compassionate and tactful, but also radically honest—someone who listens deeply, shares thoughtful reflections, and stays genuinely engaged in the work.

Safety and trust are built through honesty, kindness, and consistency. Ben strives to create a space where clients know their therapist is fully present listening with compassion, offering genuine impressions, and always being on their side.
Their work draws from a variety of evidence-based and experiential approaches, including:

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Narrative Exposure Therapy
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
• Somatic approaches

Their practice is trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming, and they are always expanding their toolbox, including ongoing learning around Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Internal Family Systems (IFS).

Ben actively creates an affirming environment for neurodivergent clients by honoring sensory and accessibility needs. Clients are welcome to request adjustments such as changes in lighting or scent, choose where they sit (including the floor or sensory swing), or approach therapy in nontraditional ways.
Sessions may include practical support like:

• helping find referrals
• taking walks while talking
• working through challenging or “messy” tasks together

If there is therapeutic intention behind the work, it belongs in therapy.
As a transgender man, Ben also brings lived understanding to their work with LGBTQIA+ clients. He is intentional about using correct pronouns, honoring the full spectrum of relationships, and providing poly- and kink-affirming care. These parts of identity deserve space, respect, and thoughtful exploration in therapy.

Outside of work, Ben finds joy in tabletop gaming, playing with their cats, attending Renaissance Faires, and creating art from wood and gemstones.
He's recently been enjoying audiobooks like Rest Is Resistance and No Bad Parts, along with Dropout’s Dimension 20 tabletop campaigns. In his words: tabletop gaming—when done right--is therapy. The stories, relationships, and themes explored mirror many of the same questions we ask about humanity and connection.
His favorite form of self-care is wonderfully grounded: cleaning the kitchen while making a big pot of veggie-packed soup, with music, an audiobook, or a podcast playing in the background. It’s movement, nourishment, mental stimulation, and comfort all in one.
Coffee or tea? Both—but coffee is essential: very large, very iced, with just a splash of vanilla creamer.

Ben offers this encouragement to those thinking about starting therapy:
​“Be picky about your therapist. If the rapport feels lukewarm or the work doesn’t feel helpful, it’s okay to look elsewhere. No therapist is the right fit for everyone—and we won’t be offended. We can’t make magic together unless the fit is right.”

Ready to work with Ben?
​Reach out today to schedule an appointment or consultation.