9781422275221

so Chapter 5 seeks to help young LGBTQ people find appropriate mental and sexual health care services in their area.

What Is Mental Health? The importance of mental health will be a recurring theme in this book. But the term mental health can confuse the issue sometimes. Some mental health issues stem from a natural defect in a person’s brain. But that doesn’t mean that there’s something inherently wrong with the person. Most of the time, including in the context of this book, when a person talks about mental health, they’re talking about emotional health. You may not think of your brain as being subject to damage from things that occur around you, but we all can definitely acknowledge that our emotions can be greatly affected by others. That emotional strain can then in turn affect our bodies. Emotions affect health. That’s what we mean when we talk about mental health. There are some problems that people might have due to how their brain naturally functions, but those are not the types of problems that LGBTQ people are more prone to than the average person, so that’s not what will be discussed in this book. What Is Sexual Health? Sexual health essentially means having a healthy relationship with one’s own sexuality. That means knowing what risks a person faces to their health as a consequence of sex and knowing how to act upon that information. Information about sex is presented in this book, not just for its own sake or to make anyone uncomfortable, but to help people make the decisions that will help them preserve their health. A Note About Terms Used in This Book Some common terms used in this book may be unfamiliar to some people. LGBTQ refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (or questioning). Lesbian refers to women who are attracted

9

Introduction

Made with FlippingBook Annual report