As Pride month celebrations wrap, there’s one statistic that weaves through the fabric of the LGBTQ+ community year round in Colorado.
More than half said they experienced poor mental health.
That number is drastically higher than that of 28% straight and cisgender adults in the state who reported poor mental health in the one month. The most recent 2023 data from Colorado Health Access Survey showed 54% of LGBTQ+ Colorado adults said they struggled with depression, stress or other emotional problems for eight or more days over a one-month period.
“That’s a big story because that’s huge to know that — that’s twice as likely to experience poor mental health issues as an LGBTQ+ Coloradan,” said Lindsey Whittington, program manager with Colorado Health Institute, a nonprofit which conducts the survey every couple of years.
“It gets so internalized and then perpetuates into some other health issue downstream. If an individual in an area doesn’t have support – doesn’t feel like they belong – I think it has such a big impact on how someone moves through their life,” said Whittington, who identifies with they/them pronouns.