LGBTQ+ Stress, Trauma, Time, and Care

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Trauma Studies
• LGBTQ+ Health

Background:

• Societal pressures from white cis-heteropatriarchy uniquely impact LGBTQ+ individuals, leading to chronic stress.
• Adverse experiences such as family rejection, violence, and homelessness contribute to a stress-trauma continuum.
• Previous research highlights the cumulative nature of stress in LGBTQ+ populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reframe common adverse experiences within the LGBTQ+ community as part of a stress-trauma continuum.
• To introduce the concept of 'queer allostatic load' to describe accumulated stress.
• To explore the neurobiological and sociocultural dimensions of trauma for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis drawing on social psychology and trauma studies.
• Review of historical efforts within the LGBTQ+ community to depathologize trauma.
• Examination of the impact of societal structures on LGBTQ+ lived experiences.

Main Results:

• Adverse experiences can be understood as accumulating stress, termed 'queer allostatic load'.
• This load exists on a continuum from stressful to traumatic, influenced by social support and resources.
• The framework highlights 'chrono-stress' and 'traumatic temporality' affecting queer futures and pasts.

Conclusions:

• Trauma is both an individual neurobiological and a sociocultural experience for LGBTQ+ people.
• The stress-trauma continuum offers a nuanced understanding of LGBTQ+ lived experiences.
• Proposals for spiritual care are presented for queer and trans individuals experiencing this continuum.