Hyper-Masculinity effects on Gay and Bi Men

via GoodTherapy

“Gay and bisexual men experience numerous negative health conditions, including high rates of mental health problems,” said Beth N. Fischgrund of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, and lead author of a new study examining masculinity and mental health in gay and bisexual men.

“Empirical studies show that a strong adherence to masculine norms is correlated with poor health outcomes, such as mental health problems and risky sexual behaviors.”

National studies have shown that gay men are nearly twice as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety as heterosexual men, and that suicide rates for these men are nearly double those of other men.

The way gay and bisexual men perceive their masculinity has a significant impact on mental health. “Society’s messages about sexuality are not the only cultural attitudes that sexual minority men are confronted with; cultural attitudes also delineate what it means to be a man,” said Fischgrund.

 She added that some men may exhibit hyper-masculine behaviors when they feel their masculinity is being threatened.
“Gay men who endorse hyper-masculine norms might then experience identity incongruence when they are presented with general society’s norms that differ and contradict their own.

 In these situations, the more integral the hyper-masculine norms are to a man’s identity, the more psychological distress he may experience.”

For her study, Fischgrund recruited 311 gay and bisexual men, nearly a third of which reported an HIV positive status.

 “Among these gay and bisexual men, those who adhered to norms that incorporate an interpersonal aspect of masculinity (i.e., conceptions of masculinity as social behavior or as sexual  behavior) endorsed higher levels of mental health distress than did men who adhered to norms that focus on the intrapersonal aspects of masculinity (i.e., conceptions of masculinity as physical appearance),” said Fischgrund.

“Additionally, men who did not know their HIV status endorsed higher levels of depression.” She emphasized the importance of her findings.

“Specifically, designing programs that center on altering the social and sexual masculine norms within the gay male community are needed to decrease the mental health burden of gay and bisexual men, which has been shown to be associated with HIV risky behaviors.”


See the rest

You Are Not Alone: Gay Black Men and Depression

via ChicagoNow, by Imagee

I first learned of the documentary "You Are Not Alone," from a website called Healthy Black Men - Healthyblackmen.org is an online health and lifestyle magazine for Black men.  The story that grabbed my attention was one that outlined gay black men and how they're suffering from depression. Antoine B. Craigwell, author and filmmaker, wrote about events and issues of and in the Black gay community, and embarked on a book addressing depression in Black gay men. The stories shared from Black gay men are placed alongside what professionals and Black gay literature have said, and against a background of the effects of culture, ethnicity, religion, and society.

Craigwell announced the launch of Depressed Black Gay Men, a website to raise awareness about depression in gay Black men. After hearing several more stories of pain and suffering from other gay Black men, Craigwell realized that something was wrong and no one was talking about it. Antoine began scouring friends, friends of friends, and as many contacts on Facebook and other social networking sites, including gay sex sites, to find anyone who is Black and gay, suffering from depression and willing to share their stories. It was as if a floodgate had opened and a torrent of stories poured out.

Check out the trailer for the forthcoming documentary, "You Are Not Alone." Courageous Black gay men are breaking their silence and they are speaking out about their depression. It is hoped that a Black gay man, through what he sees and hears in this documentary, could feel emboldened to know he is not alone, and find the courage to reach out for help.

Craigwell wants your support toward the completion of this documentary. It would provide a resource and encouragement for other gay Black men, especially young gay Black men who feel imprisoned, are struggling with their sexual identity and acceptance in a world that rejects them.

These stories are really compelling and I encourage everyone to check them out. Here are their stories:

Being Black and Gay: Struggles With HIV and Depression

via the Black Gay Men's Blog, reposted by Keith R. Green

For those in the NYC area on Tuesday May 17th, this should be both informative and powerful! Check it out...

Depression among black gay men is one of those topics we don’t often discuss, which is slowly eating away at our community. Rates of depression in people with HIV are as high as 60%, compared with 5-10% of the general population. With the high incidence of HIV among black gay men, that would also suggest a high incidence of depression. In the black community, we still don’t talk about and address mental health and depression as much as we need too. Even if you don’t suffer from depression, you probably know someone who does. Too often, we accept certain behavioral patters as the norm, instead of seeing them as possible signs of depression. Drinking too much, always getting high on weed or other drugs, no longer engaging ion activities one used to enjoy, or unusual or scary behavior could all be signs of depression. Whether it is your own life, or the life of a friend or loved one, you might want to do something, before it is too late. There will be an open and frank discussion about depression and black gay men, at 6.00-8.00pm, on May 17 2011 at The Riverside Church in New York City, 91 Claremont Avenue (btw 120 & 121st Streets) Room 10 T. Look out for other forums in other cities – Washington DC, Raleigh NC, St. Louis MO. You must RSVP your attendance directly to: riversidehiv@aol.com.

Read more...

How is Aaron DeWinter Williams Healthy?

Good health is a state of mind.

I've been living with HIV and associated depression for ten years. Regular medical checkups, strict adherence to my treatment regimen, a proper diet and being a non-smoker and non-drug user certainly helps. Running, cycling and yoga keeps me physically fit. And I try to maintain a proper work/life balance.

However, I believe my greatest compensation comes from maintaining my mental and emotional health. Psychiatric counseling and an awesome group of loving, supportive friends helps stave off depression.I truly believe in the healing power of pets. The cold wet nose, soft purr and furry cuddle of my cat makes the most stressful day a distant memory. In addition to physical fitness, remaining active allows me to give back to the community, whether I'm volunteering at my local animal shelter, completing marathons, triathlons or cycling for various charities. As cliche as it sounds, altruism nourishes my soul.

As I approach my 45th birthday, I feel youthful and have a zest for life that I didn't possess 5 years ago. 

I'm still a work in progress. But I've learned that a positive mental attitude and a few laughs go a long way to maintaining good health.

-- Aaron DeWinter Williams
Chicago

How are you healthy?
Join in the conversation.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here.
Gay men and all allies welcome to participate.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign

How is Marcelo Maia healthy?

I am healthy by trying to keep sanity in midst of a crazy world, where absurd is a constant and injustice is common occurrence.

Just watching the news and witnessing the struggles of everyday people for basic human rights is enough to depress anyone. When HIV is added to that mix, that struggle hits home and becomes personal, you own it like it or not.

I believe our attitude towards life has a direct impact on our body and the response to HIV. Depression not only affects our mood, it affects our response to the infection, it can also depress our immune system and how it reacts to HIV. That's why I think its vital to keep good mental health and have a positive outlook towards life .

How to do that is the question and the answer is formulated by our own realities. For me, giving meaning to my life by working on issues I believe, by trying to do things I love, by being sensitive to other people's humanity and needs, by trying to understand others, by cherishing the people I love, by trying to make a difference for the better.

For me, it is necessary that we know who we are, to have meaningful conversations with friends and people we love, to seek professional help if I need. Psychotherapy has had a bad rap due to the stigma associated with mental diseases. Depression is a mental disease and often associated with HIV. It is a villainous disease because it impairs our ability to see life under a positive light, things are bleak and we feel powerless.

On the other hand, we are the only ones who can do anything about it.

Fear can be a bitch, if you let it.

-- Marcelo Maia

Chicago

How are you healthy?
Join in the conversation.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign.

Not just in my head: depression in Black gay men

via AlterNet, by Antoine Craigwell
Excerpt:

Many Black gay men may recount that every day is a battle against homophobia, from outside and within the Black community, against the memories of sexual abuse, the overt and covert racism and intra-racism, economic disparities, injustices, and stigma and discrimination. Thrown into this mix is the deeply psychologically scarring and anti-human effect of religion, particularly Christianity, which has been used as a tool in slave times to oppress and subjugate, and to stifle, repress, encourage ostracism and marginalization of those who feel an attraction to another of the same sex.

Read the rest.

Breaking the silence of depression in the Black gay community

Speaking out about a taboo subject

via AlterNet, by Antoine Craigwell

Nationwide, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community on Friday, Apr 15, 2010, commemorated a day of silence – vowing not to speak for one 24-hour period as a unified protest action in solidarity with other LGBT and against the treatment members of the community receive from a majority of people. This day of silence was also an occasion to create a crack in the reluctance to speak about depression and its debilitating effects in the Black gay community.

In the Black community, there is significant resistance to addressing depression. Without regard to ethnic origin, whether African American, Afro Caribbean, or African, the cultural belief is that one does not speak his business, especially his personal business about himself, out of the family. Equally, in many Black families, with the emphasis on masculinity and survival in challenging times, including dealing with racial discrimination, speaking out about one’s inner feelings is often regarded as a weakness or a significant flaw, to be strengthen or eradicated, at all costs and by all means. Therefore, many Black gay men are caught in a vicious cycle: it is taboo to talk about what’s bothering him, and if he should try, he would be branded as weak.

Read the rest.

The "Work In" - Get Through Your Holiday P.M.S.

Ed Negron, a former drug user, turned gangbanger, turned drug dealer, turned own best customer, turned addict, turned recovering addict (still there), turned activist, turned business manager, turned student, turned Substance Abuse Counselor, turned better and happier person, turned someone who can love and be loved (Love you Patrick), turned blogger. Check out Ed's own blog here.

Featured almost every Thursday on LifeLube --- check out all of Ed's "Work-In's" here.


Some people look forward to the sights, signs, and smells of the holidays. The holidays bring them joy and a warm feeling, and they joyously dive into the season.

For others it brings conflict, guilt, shame and anger, and they dip into the Poor Me Syndrome (PMS); which we all know equals depression.

We can read articles, blogs, and books on how to enjoy the holidays, and about the Christmas blues, but many of us still can't figure out how to get

through the holiday season. Many of us feel torn between what we want to do on the holiday, and what we feel we have to do. We may feel guilty because we don't want to be with our families. We may feel a sense of loss because we don't have the kind of family to be with that we want.

Many of us,year after year, walk into the same dining room, on the same holiday, expecting this year to be different. Then we leave, year after year, feeling let down, disappointed, and confused by it all. Many of us have old, painful memories triggered by the holidays. Many of us feel a great deal of relief when the holiday is ended.

This choice of how to feel during the holidays is ours. It always has been, and it always well be.

One of the greatest lessons I learned in recovery is that I’m not alone. There are definitely as many of us in conflict during the holidays as there are those who feel at peace. Those who are at peace got there by learning, through trial and error, how to take care of oneself a little better each holiday season.

The holiday season presents us with an opportunity to practice the “letting go thing” I’m always talking about here. When we catch self-pity starting, we can choose to take action against it immediately. This is a special time of the year to set aside our work and our routines; to put our problems and burdens on the shelf. We may have been too compulsive on past holidays to celebrate.

There’s no need for perfection on how we celebrate. We can have some tension, or pain, and yet set it aside as we join with others for a special day. Join with others who are also letting go on this day; and celebrate. Maybe we can learn from them how they do it.

“When we set an intention to change and grow, we begin a journey in which we move from coping, to learning and finally, to the enjoyment of living. With each step, we experience greater freedom, fulfillment and joy. Worth going for, don’t you think?

Every human has four endowments - self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change.” -- Stephen R. Covey


To read daily motivations visit my blog at thework-in.blogspot.com or to receive daily motivations via email join our Google group Back To The Basics Please .

If you are not sure how to begin your work-in or need some guidance please feel free to post a comment or email me directly at thework-in@hotmail.com, I will response as soon as I can.

(Usual disclaimer applies: The suggestions on this blog are just that “SUGGESTIONS.” My words cannot heal your pain and or addictions. Nor can I change your life. Only you can.)

“Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness." -- Shakti Gawain

Peter, I feel depressed and can’t seem to shake the sense of “who cares anyway?” Any advice?

[Peter Pointers is here 4 YOU, as a service to LifeLube readers - whatever question you may have regarding sexual health, physical health, mental/emotional and spiritual health - ask him. He will find the answers you are looking 4. from a team of experts Below is a recent Q&A you may be interested to read.]

Question: There have been some challenges in my life lately, and I have been feeling really down. Even since some of them have been resolved, I still feel depressed and can’t seem to shake the sense of “who cares anyway?” Any advice? I saw a therapist a long time ago – in college – around coming out issues, but didn’t find it all that helpful.

Answer: First of all, thank you for reaching out and sending me an e-mail. I am sorry to hear you’re not feeling so great these days, but I think it’s a very good thing you are willing to share this with someone else.

Importantly, if you are experiencing a desire to hurt yourself or someone else, or feel like you are overwhelmed with these emotions or do not have hope, please call one of the many wonderful resources available to people in a time of need or crisis:

LGBT Crisis Hotline (24 hours)
773.871.CARE
773.871.2273

Hopeline (24 hours)
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-784-2433

Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK
1-800-273-8255

Even though I don’t have all the information about what you are going through, it sounds like your life is being effected heavily by the way you are feeling.  Reaching out to someone for information and support is a very important step to helping yourself cope with what you are going through. 

However, I would strongly suggest that you seek out someone that you can speak with personally and with greater detail about what is going on and how it is impacting you. Talking with someone about what you’re going through can be really comforting, and they hopefully can help you get back to feeling good.  I’d like to go ahead and give you some referrals of places and people with whom you can talk.  Talking with a professional is important to tap into the guidance and expertise that they have.

In Chicago, one good place to start is the Howard Brown Health Center, which provides mental health services specifically tailored for the LGBT community, with counseling and psychotherapy available in the Behavioral Health Services department.
         4525 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL, 60613
         773- 388-1600

Another place is the Center on Halsted, Chicago’s community center dedicated to the LGBT community.  They offer a variety of mental health services, including counseling, which are available on a sliding scale basis and a number of insurance plans are accepted as well.
        3656 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL, 60613
        773.472.6643

Also, Psychology Today has a searching tool where you can locate therapists near you.  This site allows you to read the therapists profiles, which will tell you about their perspectives, specializations, and service fees:      

I hope you can find one of these referrals to be of use to you.  Again I think that a first good step is to give it another try and speak with someone.  Please feel free to contact me with any other questions, or to let me know how things are going for you.


Be Well,
Peter
Peter Pointers on LifeLube, E-mail Peter
Friend Peter on Facebook

Are You Depressed, Or Just Human?

via Huffington Post, by Dr. Andrew Weil

Depression can be devastating. Its worst form, major depressive disorder, is marked by all-encompassing low mood, thoughts of worthlessness, isolation, and loss of interest or pleasure in most or all activities. But this clinical description misses the deep, experiential horror of the condition; the suffocating sense of despair that can make life seem too arduous to bear.

Here's something else we can say confidently about depression: it is complex. The cause is often a mix of factors including genetic brain abnormalities, sunlight deprivation, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and social issues including homelessness and poverty. Also, cause and effect can be hard to tease apart -- is social isolation a cause or an effect of depression?

Unfortunately, we can make one more unassailable observation about depression: the disorder -- or, more precisely, the diagnosis -- has gone stratospheric. An astonishing 10 percent of the U.S. population was prescribed an antidepressant in 2005; up from 6 percent in 1996.

Why has the diagnosis become so popular? There are likely several reasons. It's possible that more people today are truly depressed than they were a decade ago. Urbanized, sedentary lifestyles; nutrient-poor processed food; synthetic but unsatisfying entertainments and other negative trends, all of which are accelerating, may be driving up the rate of true depression. But I doubt the impact of these trends has nearly doubled in just ten years.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/are-you-depressed-or-just_b_307734.html

Read the rest.

Depression not a good match for treatment adherence

Onset of depression means poorer adherence to HIV treatment
via Aidsmap, by Michael Carter

The onset of depression can lead to poorer adherence to HIV treatment, US investigators report in a study published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The research also showed that a large proportion of HIV-positive patients have symptoms of depression.

Read the rest.

Queer Peers for Recovery

by Mark A. Davis, M.A.D.

For decades the mental health consumer/survivor civil rights movement has been advocating recovery. I have been honored to work in this movement since 1985 and finally witness recovery as a system transformation goal.

Once labeled co-morbid, dually diagnosed and double troubled, I am now a co-occurring person living with bipolar II, in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions and living well since diagnosed HIV-positive in September 1988. This affords the label of being a person who is multiply occurring, dynamic, creative and gifted. I am still learning how to live a recovering life.

For years I couldn't be gay in mental health treatment, advocacy or peer groups nor could I be out about mental illness in gay society. It was a painful duality where peer support helped bridge this divide.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) are sexual identities while Transgender (T) are gender identities, two very distinct cultural considerations. Questioning (Q) refers to coming to terms with our sexual or gender identity. Suicide is rampant in our culture. Addictions and mental illnesses are related to low self-esteem, coming out issues, family rejection and unhealthy social structures of being an LGBTQ person. Suicide attempts in my 20’s were directly related to my shame and fear of being gay and triggered my mental illness and addictions.

Homosexuality was a mental illness until removed from the DSM in 1973 when I was in high school. Yet, LGBTQ people are not mentioned in the President’s New Freedom Report, Co-Occurring Report to Congress, Surgeon General’s Mental Health/Cultural Competency Reports and National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The governmental system follows a conservative moral political agenda disregarding research, funding, programs, policies and competencies for sexual and gender minority health.

My passion is to share the value of peer support as a vital link to live in recovery within our cultural roots. Modeling pioneer peer-run groups scattered across the country for sexual and gender minorities, the Pink & Blues* was founded in 2003. Pink represents gay culture, blue depression and the colors assigned to our perceived birth gender. We built a safe, confidential space one step at a time.

Perks of peer support are great friends who understand, sharing recovery stories, social connections and the stark reality of our shared experiences. I have someone to call in a time of crisis or celebration. Peer support validates past traumas, hurts and abuse to become a survivor rather than a victim. Peers are my heroes.

A peer support group is a place to meet people from other sexual, gender, racial, religious and disability roots. We are socially connected and politically enlightened. We are coming out within a coming out movement. We openly march in pride parades and table at educational events. We have a sense of humor as “fruits and nuts” and proclaim “we’re here, we’re queer and we’re crazy, too.” Can I help you start Pink & Blue peer support in your community? It works for my recovery. Name, Claim, Tame and Frame It!!!

Adapted from published story in “Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Rehabilitation” by Corrigan, P., Mueser, K., Bond, G., Drake, R., Solomon, P. Edit by Pink & Blues member Lynn Woodward and written by Mark A. Davis, Philadelphia - Updated April 28, 2009

*Pink and Blues
Founded January 15, 2003
Meets every Wednesday from 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Doors open at 6:30 - please arrive no later than 7:15
The Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany - Blue Room
330 S. 13th St. (between Spruce and Pine) Philadelphia, PA
Enter church courtyard - go to wheelchair ramp -
enter from single red door on right

Don't suffer in silence

Gay men are two to three times more likely to have a mental health problem and 4.3 times more likely to attempt suicide than straight men, and have around double the rate of depression and anxiety.

Working to understand men's mental health
via Dangerous Behavior, by Michael Addis (professor of psychology at Clark University, Massachusetts)

Excerpt:

Men’s mental health is a dramatically understudied and poorly understood area of human wellbeing. Men are half as likely as women to be diagnosed with depression, yet twice as likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.

What’s going on here? One compelling possibility is that what society teaches men about what it means to be a man leads us to express our pain in ways that differ from women. Among the more striking differences is that men are more likely to keep their problems to themselves. We frequently suffer in silence, and sometimes with dire consequences. Our research at Clark University in the US has shown that men who are more likely to value self-reliance and stoicism are more likely to have significant symptoms of depression; they are also more likely to report feeling ashamed of being depressed, and more likely to keep the problem to themselves.

Read the whole item.

Feast of Fun - Microagressions, Macroconsequences

via Feast of Fun

Microagressions. Do you know what I’m talking about? Those subtle jabs that chip away at our sense of self worth.

On today’s show- Dr. Brian Mustanski, assistant professor for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago talks with us about microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations - all these little bits of hate spewed by others can add up to a mountain of despair or depression if you don’t deal with them.

Brian also writes the Sexual Continuum blog for Psychology Today in which he tackles LGBT health and development issues from the biology of sexual orientation, to talking to your family about sexuality to the pros and cons of the Internet in our romantic lives. You can also become a fan of Brian’s blog on Facebook.

Read more and listen as Brian shares with us some steps you can take to heal and protect yourself from these attacks and how to speak openly and honestly with those around you.

[Brian was a featured panelist on the LifeLube community forum held last July - Driving Tips for Sex on the Superhighway. Check out the podcast and photos from the evening here.]

Conference highlights the forces encouraging risk behaviour in gay men

via Aidsmap, by Roger Pebody and Michael Carter

The forces encouraging sexual risk behaviour are large and widespread, but the forces for precautionary behaviour are meagre and narrowly focussed, argued Ford Hickson of Sigma Research at the CHAPS conference of gay men’s health promoters in Brighton last week. Rather than describe HIV prevention in the UK as failing, he suggested it would be more accurate to say that it is inadequate.

Other sessions at the conference included one of the first qualitative studies of the experiences of gay men co-infected with hepatitis C and HIV, and an examination of how HIV-positive men have adjusted their behaviour in the light of prosecutions of HIV transmission.

In the plenary, Ford Hickson outlined the forces encouraging risk behaviour:

• The power of sexual pleasure. "If you do not understand sexual risk," he commented, "it is probably because you don’t appreciate sexual desire".

• The rapid expansion of the gay scene into "a large business sector supplying services for sexual contact and locations to have sex".

• The continued denigration of homosexuality in society, and the associated emotional isolation and low mood of many gay men.

• Men’s self-medication with alcohol and drugs, which is problematic in a culture which excuses risk-taking while under the influence.

• The widespread belief that ‘real sex’ is anal sex.

• The commodification and fetishisation of barebacking as a transgressive behaviour. "Gay sub-culture has long legitimised the eroticisation of unacceptable thoughts," Hickson suggested, and barebacking porn is one manifestation of this.

• Individualistic cultural norms that reject notions of responsibility. "The idea that you would sacrifice something yourself in order to protect or care for someone else seems, at the moment, to be deeply alien to gay culture and HIV prevention approaches," he said.

• Optimistic biases in our thinking: telling ourselves that risks are smaller than they really are.

Read the rest.

VERY COOL - Mitcham Named Aussie Health Ambassador

Thanks to Advocate.com

Gay Olympic gold medalist Matthew Mitcham was named Thursday to be one of his country's ambassadors for men's health.

The Australian diver, who won the 10-meter platform competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, will be an advocate for the country's policy on men's health. Mitcham replaces one of the first men's health ambassadors, Fatherhood Foundation president Warwick Marsh, who was ousted for writing that homosexuality is a "gender disorientation pathology" stemming from sexual abuse and personality disorders, according to The Australian.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon described Mitcham as a "courageous man," citing his struggle with depression and anxiety, after which he claimed Olympic gold. Aboriginal health advocate Mick Adams and Tasmanian doctor Rob Walters were also named ambassadors on Thursday.

They will join David de Kretser, Tim Mathieson, Bill Noonan, Barry Williams, and John Macdonald. The ambassadors will focus on topics such as preventable cancers, sexual health, and illicit drug abuse.

Study: internalized homophobia and sexual risk

via Aidsmap

Internalized homophobia is associated with sexual risk behaviour amongst HIV-positive gay and bisexual men, US research published in the journal AIDS Education and Prevention suggests. The investigators found that not being “out” as gay or bisexual was associated with non-disclosure of HIV status to non-primary sexual partners and that lower sexual comfort was associated with less confidence using condoms and unprotected anal sex with HIV-negative men or men of an unknown HIV status.

The concept of internalized homophobia (or internalized homonegativity) was developed in the 1970s and is described as a revulsion or hostility towards one’s own homosexuality or things homosexual.

Some research has suggested a link between internalised homophobia and unprotected sex. Investigators wished to gain a better understanding of the relationship between internalised homophobia and serodiscordant unprotected anal sex amongst a population of 675 HIV-positive gay men recruited through community-based organisations in six US cities.

Read the rest.

The Problem: Internalized Homonegativity

"This study is a missing link in our understanding of the relationship between sexuality and health," he said. "It provides new evidence that negative attitudes towards homosexuality, not homosexuality itself, are associated with both poorer mental and sexual health outcomes seen in sexual minorities. Conversely, positive attitudes towards homosexuality are associated with better mental and sexual health."

Read the whole article.

Yoga of the Breath - for people living with HIV in San Francisco

Quan Yin Healing Arts Center

Practical skills to eliminate stress & support immune function

Enhanced health & greater quality of life

Jan. 11-18, 2008

Weekdays 7-9:30PM Weekends 10AM-2PM

No Fee!

Quan Yin Healing Arts Center
455 Valencia near 16th in San Francisco
(1 block from 16th St Bart)

• Renew your enthusiasm for life

• Increase your energy

• Sleep better

• Say good-bye to depression

• Feel GREAT about yourself!

• And so much more...

Contact
Mike Wonders
mwonders@gmail.com
415-595-2094

Chicago's Meth Task Force to move its focus to other substances

By Matt Simonette
Staff writer, Chicago Free Press

Published December 12, 2007

The Chicago Crystal Meth Task Force has decided to reshape its focus and change its name in 2008.

At its Nov. 28 meeting, members decided to implement a change that had been contemplated for many months, adopting a more holistic agenda of mental health, behavioral and environmental factors that contribute to substance use and abuse.

In light of the shift, the task force is changing its name back to Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse, according to member Simone Koehlinger.

"We're broadening the focus to any substance that impairs judgment," Koehlinger said, adding that the change does not reflect any lessening of concern about the continuing impact of meth.

But after a year "of us trying to keep the focus on meth, we wondered if we might have been missing a lot of the bigger picture," she said. Meth, according to Koehlinger, "is kind of a red herring. There are other factors at work."

The task force plans to begin to address issues that might lead GLBTs to addictive behaviors. Koehlinger said they would consider how life in the GLBT community often stimulates and perpetuates such use.

She cited just a few questions GLBTs need to ask about themselves about their community and its social venues. "Where do you (usually) go out to meet people? Where do you hang out with friends? Bars," Koehlinger said.

"And how does being discriminated against at work or at home contribute to self-esteem issues which might lead to drug use?" she added.

But the task force is not interested in demonizing drinking, smoking or any other addictive behavior."

We would just like to have a community dialogue about changing some of the norms. It is (for example) normative for us to drink, and to drink a lot," Koehlinger said.

She acknowledged that task force members, given their varied backgrounds, would have to educate one another about the intricacies of various drugs and behaviors. According to Koehlinger, "There's some of us who are experts on smoking, and others who know about a lot about party drugs like ecstacy."

The task force also wants to bring various community leaders into the process. At the meeting attendees discussed training members of the community to facilitate peer-led discussions on substance abuse issues.

"We want to bring some bar owners back into the fold as well. We need to have them be part of this conversation too," Koehlinger added.

The task force's next meeting is in January.