If this report (#1) from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is not alarming enough, look further down and read the results of three studies (A-C) performed in the UK concerning mental health and homosexuals:
1.) According to a report from the CDC: “During 2005-2013, the number of primary and secondary syphilis cases reported each year in the United States nearly doubled, from 8,724 to 16,663; the annual rate increased from 2.9 to 5.3 cases per 100,000 population.” Most of the increases came from men who have sex with men, who were responsible for 77% of cases in 2009 but 83.9% in 2012, what the report calls “the vast majority of male … syphilis cases.” However, the report warns that the current statistics are most likely far less than the true number because only 34 states and the District of Columbia fully report on the gender of sex partners.
A.) In the paper, “Rates and predictors of mental illness in gay men, lesbians and bisexual men and women” reported the results from a survey based in England and Wales (2004.) Of the 1285 gay, lesbian and bisexual respondents who took part, 556 (43%) had mental disorder as defined by the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS - R). Out of the whole sample, 361 (31%) had attempted suicide. Their conclusion: “Gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women have high levels of mental disorder.”
B.) Researcher Dr. Apu Chakraborty of University College London, UK and his team looked at rates of mental disorders among 7,403 adults living in the UK, whose details were obtained from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. Rates of depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobia, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and alcohol and drug dependence were significantly higher in homosexual respondents. 4% had a depressive episode in the last week, compared to 2% of heterosexual people. The rate of alcohol dependence was 10% versus 5%, and for self-harming it was 9% versus 5%. The proportion of homosexual people who described themselves as being fairly or very happy was 30%, versus 40% for heterosexual people.
C.) In 2008, Professor Michael King and his team at University College London, UK, carried out a review of 28 papers on the subject of homosexuality and metal health. All were published between 1966 and 2005, and included a total of 214,344 heterosexual and 11,971 homosexual people. Their analysis revealed twice the rate of suicide attempts among lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The risks of depression and anxiety disorders were at least one and a half times higher, as was alcohol and other substance abuse.
Author’s note: What I found most remarkable about the studies from the UK were the unanimous conclusions reached by the researchers: that all mental problems within the gay community are a direct result of homophobic discrimination. While there is no denying that prejudice and hatred against gays still exists, nevertheless, I am astounded that no one looks into the reality of the gay lifestyle itself to determine if that is the source of these high rates of emotional disorders. What I mean, when AIDS first surfaced: those brave early scientists started looking at the group most affected: gay men. They went into the gay community to see what gay men were going; how they were living their daily lives; and how they were having sex. They wanted to discover by what means the disease was being passed from one man to another. In terms of mental health, those same realities are still in play: what are homosexuals doing that is causing these higher rates of mental disorders? What is the lifestyle like? How is it to live as a gay man or woman? Those questions - they are not even approaching.
For, one of the things I attempted to accomplish in my book was to reveal the oftentimes horrific day-to-day existence of gay men and women: the societal pressure within the gay community to have sex (at a very young age,) to have multiple partners, to engage in bizarre sex practices, the use of hallucinogenic drugs, the constant partying and switching of lovers; the endless restlessness and hapless quest for a happiness that forever seems just out of reach. Without a doubt, from the outside, and when you are first introduced to it, the gay life can seem completely euphoric and totally liberating. But, the longer you are in it, the more shallow and dark it becomes. This inevitably leaves everyone despondent and depressed; but, also more desperate. You begin to cling to false hopes and ethereal promises of worldly content: the most modern incarnation being the push for universal gay marriage. Yet, in the end, there is still something that goes unresolved: loneliness pervades; and despite your best efforts – it never goes away.