Depression/Anxiety
"Long time ago I would feel depressed/anxious. I have outgrown this over the years by realizing that this is the way I am, that God made me that way, and why not enjoy it."
"Once I came out, no [I didn't feel depressed]. Before that, it consumed my thoughts. It was strange, as soon as I took that leap it was a non-issue. It was like a wore a pair of shoes for 22 years that didn’t quite fit and so all I could think about was the discomfort, but once I put on the right pair I stopped think about my shoes."
"[I've never felt depressed or anxious about my sexuality.] I’ve wondered about it a lot, mainly because from a young age I never liked the limitations placed on sexuality, and the need to define it. I feel like if my energy is attracted to someone else’s energy, and my body is attracted to someone else’s body, and we want to “do it,” then, you know, that’s that."
"Depressed, no! Anxious, perhaps. I love being gay, and all that it entails. However, I sometimes feel socially anxious about coming off as "too gay." I hate going to strange places (parties, stores, whatnot) sometimes, because I feel like I will be seen as a raging homo or something silly like that."
"[I've felt depressed] usually because I ended up sleeping with someone I didn't really want to sleep with or at a time I really didn't want to sleep with anyone. I have a horrible problem with saying no to sex. It seems to become easier to just have sex with someone than fight for my right to say no. I guess i feel I have little dignity left for myself and am pretty ashamed of the fact that I keep letting it happen. I'm not really proud that I've slept with over 20 guys and have only dated/semi-dated 4 of them."
"[Feel depressed] About my sexuality? Not really. About my loneliness and apparent inability to meet someone interested in something other than a quick blow & go? Ya that happens more frequently. Altho it's being brought under control. =)"
"I get depressed/anxious about many things in life but no so much about sexuality. I think I believe in myself and I support others in believing in themselves too. I don’t give a damn if a person thinks sexual orientation is the most important or the least important part of the person but I think humanity matters either way. I do get pissed when people presume or have to ask about your sexuality at the most awkward of times. For instance, just when I was getting along with some men at a part, friends of friends, one had to ask. When people ask because they think your different in any-which-way, that gets to me. Then I get to them."
"i don't feel depressed or anxious about my sexuality, but having someone in my life really helps. I am 56 years old, and if I were alone, I probably would feel depressed."
"I've felt anxious about my sexuality because people are ignorant and hateful. Bisexuals get made fun of and picked on more than lesbians and gays do... its a fact. People will casually remark on bisexuality or make jokes or something. People also don't recognize us! They don't believe bisexuals exist, they think we are sex mongers or whores or deviants. I also have felt anxious about my sexuality when I see hate-speech or mongering or when I'm around jocks or frat guys or conservatives. I rarely, if ever, feel anxious about it anymore since I've come to terms with my sexuality."
"The only time I have felt uncomfortable with my sexuality was, oddly, while I was in a room with several lesbians and everyone in that room was a self-professed lesbian but me. I don’t think this has anything to do with my sexuality really but more with I couldn’t relate to the topic being discussed and felt like an outcast in that particular situation."
"My sexuality is probably the single greatest source of anxiety, confusion, and depression in my life. It has been since I was very young. Yeah, it’s hard being queer, and it’s hard being a queer queer (bisexual or genderqueer). But that doesn’t explain the depth of my problem with sex. Maybe I just think too much about it."
"Yes I have [felt depressed and anxious] in the past, but not because of questioning my sexuality. It stemmed more from a low self-worth situation. I didn't see myself as being worth it."
"I think I have out grown [feeling depressed about my sexuality]. But I used to be bothered by not feeling like I could express what I wanted."
"Being bi used to be a horrible part of my life, filled with confusion, frustration, unrequited desires. Then I had sex with a woman and it got a little better---or at least a little clearer. It still can cause me sadness, especially in clubs or around other gay people. I still feel envious and frustrated when I see two women together: because I'm engaged and with a man, it seems as though I 'can't' feel that way anymore. I can't 'act on it anymore. (And yet I do, at parties, with my fiancé) I'm not even seen as bisexual in public---my fiancé and I can pass easily---and that brings guilt. Even the fact that we can marry is kind of awful: I couldn't marry a woman. Sometimes with my fiancé I feel like Betty Crocker: the Uncle Tom of women. When I'm with straight women I feel like I stand out like a drag queen would singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It's all very uneasy and disturbing---I don't even like to talk about it because it becomes such a confusing nest of tangled threads, I feel like I make no sense. When I was younger, I wanted to be either all of one or the other: lesbian or straight. Sometimes I still do. Yet, I could never pick."
"Once I came out, no [I didn't feel depressed]. Before that, it consumed my thoughts. It was strange, as soon as I took that leap it was a non-issue. It was like a wore a pair of shoes for 22 years that didn’t quite fit and so all I could think about was the discomfort, but once I put on the right pair I stopped think about my shoes."
"[I've never felt depressed or anxious about my sexuality.] I’ve wondered about it a lot, mainly because from a young age I never liked the limitations placed on sexuality, and the need to define it. I feel like if my energy is attracted to someone else’s energy, and my body is attracted to someone else’s body, and we want to “do it,” then, you know, that’s that."
"Depressed, no! Anxious, perhaps. I love being gay, and all that it entails. However, I sometimes feel socially anxious about coming off as "too gay." I hate going to strange places (parties, stores, whatnot) sometimes, because I feel like I will be seen as a raging homo or something silly like that."
"[I've felt depressed] usually because I ended up sleeping with someone I didn't really want to sleep with or at a time I really didn't want to sleep with anyone. I have a horrible problem with saying no to sex. It seems to become easier to just have sex with someone than fight for my right to say no. I guess i feel I have little dignity left for myself and am pretty ashamed of the fact that I keep letting it happen. I'm not really proud that I've slept with over 20 guys and have only dated/semi-dated 4 of them."
"[Feel depressed] About my sexuality? Not really. About my loneliness and apparent inability to meet someone interested in something other than a quick blow & go? Ya that happens more frequently. Altho it's being brought under control. =)"
"I get depressed/anxious about many things in life but no so much about sexuality. I think I believe in myself and I support others in believing in themselves too. I don’t give a damn if a person thinks sexual orientation is the most important or the least important part of the person but I think humanity matters either way. I do get pissed when people presume or have to ask about your sexuality at the most awkward of times. For instance, just when I was getting along with some men at a part, friends of friends, one had to ask. When people ask because they think your different in any-which-way, that gets to me. Then I get to them."
"i don't feel depressed or anxious about my sexuality, but having someone in my life really helps. I am 56 years old, and if I were alone, I probably would feel depressed."
"I've felt anxious about my sexuality because people are ignorant and hateful. Bisexuals get made fun of and picked on more than lesbians and gays do... its a fact. People will casually remark on bisexuality or make jokes or something. People also don't recognize us! They don't believe bisexuals exist, they think we are sex mongers or whores or deviants. I also have felt anxious about my sexuality when I see hate-speech or mongering or when I'm around jocks or frat guys or conservatives. I rarely, if ever, feel anxious about it anymore since I've come to terms with my sexuality."
"The only time I have felt uncomfortable with my sexuality was, oddly, while I was in a room with several lesbians and everyone in that room was a self-professed lesbian but me. I don’t think this has anything to do with my sexuality really but more with I couldn’t relate to the topic being discussed and felt like an outcast in that particular situation."
"My sexuality is probably the single greatest source of anxiety, confusion, and depression in my life. It has been since I was very young. Yeah, it’s hard being queer, and it’s hard being a queer queer (bisexual or genderqueer). But that doesn’t explain the depth of my problem with sex. Maybe I just think too much about it."
"Yes I have [felt depressed and anxious] in the past, but not because of questioning my sexuality. It stemmed more from a low self-worth situation. I didn't see myself as being worth it."
"I think I have out grown [feeling depressed about my sexuality]. But I used to be bothered by not feeling like I could express what I wanted."
"Being bi used to be a horrible part of my life, filled with confusion, frustration, unrequited desires. Then I had sex with a woman and it got a little better---or at least a little clearer. It still can cause me sadness, especially in clubs or around other gay people. I still feel envious and frustrated when I see two women together: because I'm engaged and with a man, it seems as though I 'can't' feel that way anymore. I can't 'act on it anymore. (And yet I do, at parties, with my fiancé) I'm not even seen as bisexual in public---my fiancé and I can pass easily---and that brings guilt. Even the fact that we can marry is kind of awful: I couldn't marry a woman. Sometimes with my fiancé I feel like Betty Crocker: the Uncle Tom of women. When I'm with straight women I feel like I stand out like a drag queen would singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It's all very uneasy and disturbing---I don't even like to talk about it because it becomes such a confusing nest of tangled threads, I feel like I make no sense. When I was younger, I wanted to be either all of one or the other: lesbian or straight. Sometimes I still do. Yet, I could never pick."
