LGBTQ Community
Image courtesy Internet (Impact Plus)
Does my skin color define who I am?
Does my gender make me more able?
I am so much more than you see, but only if you can see
I am beyond my choices if you know what I mean
I am Me, unique and differently Me
If I need courage to be myself, you need the courage to accept me,
You and me side by side like passengers on a ride
So, lets nurture this world together
With our nature of compassion and the spirit of being free
You and I filling the world with our True Colors.
“I am scared as well as shy to speak about it,” said Pervez (name changed) hesitantly to his therapist. When asked in a non-judgmental and compassionate tone, about the emotions that Pervez was undergoing, he spoke with hesitation.
He said “I know I am a feminine person but I have to keep it confined to these four walls. I feel exhausted. I am successful in my career and I would like to keep that aside. Every day when I move out, I feel a disconnect, as if I have kept a large part of me in my room and faking my existence to the world. I want to tell everyone about my interests and sexuality.”
“So what stops you?” asked the therapist. To which the answer was “Fear of loneliness and being marginalized at work and perhaps also at home.”
Most of the members of the LGBTQ community are aware and yet grappling with the courage to speak about their gender and sexuality preferences because they feel unsafe and unheard.
Gender is the biological characteristic that we are born with and sexuality is the psychological sense of gender that our brain has aligned with.
Freedom to express our identity brings out the best in an individual. It takes a lot of courage for an individual to express oneself and reduce the conflict between their ideal self and real self. For an individual, this courage is one-dimensional whereas for people from the LGBTQ community it is multidimensional. Firstly, its courage, for allowing oneself to be more of who they are, then courage for self-acceptance, its courage to tell that first friend, courage to choose to work on your body, courage to speak up, to be open, courage to be accepted and even greater courage when you are not accepted.
Each day the Universe gives us unique ways to be courageous and take the challenges as exciting. Self-expression brings functional and non-functional competencies to life. It helps one achieve their professional and personal goals and gratification.
Taking the case of Pervez, if he is able to take the courage to own his sexual difference and speak about himself, it would reduce his anxiety and stress levels, and help him feel integrated bringing out his best potential.
The word individual means, what cannot be divided. “Individualism” is an expression of that, but human beings tend to like those or have an affinity towards similar people or things. They see people with differences (or who are different) as a threat to their own existence. This prohibits humans to celebrate differences in life.
Abraham Maslow a psychologist, well known for his theory of motivation and needs, explained that every individual has physiological needs of food, clothing and shelter. Once these needs are fulfilled, we search for safety, security, and freedom from fear. Individuals then search for belongingness in the form of love from friends and family. You find your self-esteem and value in feeling belonged. Feeling belonged allows human being to aspire for full potential and hence if we create a climate of PRIDE for each member of the LGBTQ community to express their individuality, we will build a world that is PSYCHOLOGICALLY SAFE WITH EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL TO BUILD FULL POTENTIAL.
Individuals have both the elements of femineity and masculinity, which may also be referred to as the Ying and Yang energies. An individual has masculine and feminine hormones in different proportions. But it is in our heart that we feel the attraction. Our expression is the external manifestation of our attraction. This facilitates a plethora of orientations. If each individual can love and accept both their inner masculinity and femineity, we can build COMPASSION AND PRIDE for others.
June is celebrated as PRIDE month globally to mark inclusions of LGBTQ community. LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer.
Dr Kanan Khatau & Gurdarshan Singh, authors of this article are Co-Founders of Mind Celebrations, a pioneering preventive Mental Healthcare initiative for organizations and their employees. To know more about Mind Celebrations, visit www.mindcelebrations.com and take your preventive mental health assessments today. They offer customized Employee Assistance Programs and Employee Counselling for organizations. They help in prevention of burn out. anxiety and depression at work place through unique workshops like Digital Detox, Emotional Fitness and Energy Amplifier (not limited by).
