Building Connections: The Importance of LGBTQ+ Peer Networks in Sustaining Recovery
It is estimated that 30% of LGBTQ+ individuals suffer from some form of addiction, compared to just 9% of the rest of the population, and with the statistically significant likelihood of them also having a co-occurring mental health struggle - the outcomes get more bleak. The risk of fatal opioid overdose is 3 times higher for those diagnosed with depression, and 6 times higher for those with serious mental illness.
In short, those of us in the LGBTQ+ community have the deck stacked against us… again.
The thing is, the very factors that put those in the LGBTQ+ community at greater risk for all of these things are the same ones that make it harder for them to find a supportive, effective pathway to recovery. From discrimination in healthcare/treatment settings to loss of connection with family, pain and struggle become the norm. Isolation sets in, loneliness takes root, and before long you’ve lost all hope that anything can/will ever be different.
And if there’s one thing we know about recovery, it’s that hope is key.
This is where some people would want to jump in and make the argument that being part of the LGBTQ+ community is bad for your mental health. They might say that this “alternative lifestyle” (this term makes me gag, FYI) is clearly detrimental and the results are a natural consequence of living this way.
My fit-for-this-blog-post response* is that when people say that, they clearly don’t understand the difference between causation and correlation. Being LGBTQ+ doesn’t CAUSE a person to struggle with their mental health or substance misuse. Rather, it’s CORRELATED with it because we know that when we subject any group of people to discrimination, isolation, ostracisation, criminalization, violence, and all-around othering they’re likely to experience trauma… which can lead to mental health issues and substance misuse.
To put it another way, the problem isn’t that a person is part of the LGBTQ+ community. The problem is that we (as a society) make their identity a problem.
*My NOT-fit-for-this-blog-post response is available in live conversation format and sometimes in comment sections but it always involves a soapbox, swear words, and tense shoulders.
My opinion, based on my personal experience as a closeted LGBTQ+ person who struggled with substance misuse and deep mental health challenges and in my professional experience here at At The Roots LLC, it all boils down to one key thing - CONNECTION.
Lack of connection is what destroys us.
And it’s in connection that we rebuild and heal.
Yes, we need affirming healthcare, informed and inclusive treatment, and safer clinical support for those in the LGBTQ+ community who are trying to find a pathway to recovery.
But we can’t overlook that we also need a pathway to reconnection.
The truth is, for most people (but especially for those within the LGBTQ+ community) this is a crucial foundation on which the pathway is built. You can give someone all the medication-assisted treatment, clinical therapy, and healthcare interventions in the world and it won’t make a difference if they don’t have meaningful connections to grow into.
Suppose a person began using substances as a coping mechanism for or developed mental health issues as a result of not having deep, supportive, and healthy relationships. If we focus solely on changing the person’s behavior and not the situation that got them there, we’re setting them up for failure. That’s treating the symptom and not the cause.
It’d be like giving people painkillers for their cancer but never removing the tumor, just to turn around and wonder why they’re not better yet.
For many LGBTQ+ people, however, it’s not as simple as just finding a support group and repairing the bonds with their families. For some of us, it’s the way our families (or the larger society) treated us because they viewed us as different that led us to find solace in substances.
WE didn’t do that.
WE didn’t create that situation.
WE were simply born this way.
And so WE don’t have to repair anything.
But it also means that WE probably don’t have a family or group of natural supports to return to.
On top of trying to build a life in recovery, we are also tasked with building completely new social networks. This is true for many in recovery, not just those who are LGBTQ+, but there’s an added layer of difficulty when you have to try and figure out who will be inclusive, loving, and supportive of that piece of you as well.
And in this current social climate, that’s a tall order.
Sprinkle on a bit of religious trauma and the fact that not all churches are supportive (or are outright hateful of) the LGBTQ community and it gets harder. While many people find instant community by joining a church, it’s more of a minefield for those in the LGBTQ+ community. When a person wants nothing to do with religion at all, it’s difficult to even find support groups that don’t A. Take place within a church or B. Require some “high power” aspect or incorporate thinly veiled religious wording/practices.
Enter LGBTQ+ Peer Support.
The peer support movement itself was born out of the idea that people with lived experience can help and support each other in ways that clinical treatments can’t. It focuses on connection and relationship building. And while the conversation is evolving to include peer support more often, it’s still overlooked as a critical component of many recovery plans by the people creating them.
While we do offer 1:1 sessions here with providers who have lived experience AND are part of the LGBTQ+ community, when I say peer support I’m not just talking about this more formal version. Peer support shows up friendships, between a sponsor and a sponsee, in social groups, support groups, Gender & Sexuality Alliances, and spaces like the Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Center here in Eau Claire.
Peer support is simply two people with similar lived experiences connecting in a way that supports recovery.
If you are struggling to find a recovery path that works for you, consider including some “peer support” in your plan. If there aren’t a lot of natural supports already in place, you’re going to have to seek them out and build them into your life.
I know that it’s easier said than done. When you’re in early recovery (or struggling in any stage) it can feel like an overwhelming task to build connections on top of everything else.
But the first step is to recognize it’s not “on top” of everything else.
