While addiction affects people from all walks of life, it often hits particularly hard within the LGBTQIA community. Creekside Recovery Residences provides LGBT sober living homes that allow people to feel comfortable and ready to work on their sobriety. We offer recovery coaching, medication management, case management, and access to mental health services. When you come to us for help, we accept you as the individual person that you are. Our goal is to help you learn to put your substance use disorder behind you and get excited about your new life.
Addiction and the LGBTQIA Community
The LGBTQIA community includes those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/aromantic/agender. For many, accepting who they are and coming out to those around them can be stressful. They often face judgment and stigma specifically in relation to how they identify when it comes to gender and sexual preference. This puts them at a higher risk for developing behavioral health issues, including addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Members of this community are 2.5 times more likely to end up abusing drugs and alcohol. They also develop substance use disorders approximately four times more often than cisgender people. The 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that more than a third of the LGBTQIA community aged 18 and older used marijuana in the past year. This is more than double the amount used by the overall population of the same age group.
As well, opioid use and misuse, including heroin and prescription opioids, was more than twice as high within the LGBTQIA community. When someone from this community enters treatment for addiction, they often have more severe substance use disorders than their counterparts.
About half of those with a substance use disorder also have at least one mental health disorder. Those in the LGBTQIA community who deal with an addiction are also more likely to have a mental illness. Gay and bisexual men and women have a greater frequency of depression than heterosexuals. Additionally, transgender individuals under the age of 18 experience depression, self-harm, suicidal feelings, and eating disorders in a higher number than non-transgender people.
These eye-opening facts make it imperative that options for LGBT sober living homes exist in order to help this special group have access to the addiction treatment needed to help them become sober.
Therapy Services Provided By LGBT Sober Living Homes
When people move into LGBT sober living homes as part of their treatment for addiction to drugs and alcohol, they are able to use outpatient therapy programs. Many therapists, including those who work one-on-one and in group settings, offer ways to work on issues that affect those in the LGBTQIA population. Therapy sessions can help people identify what events or triggers led to developing an addiction. These same events not only can contribute to having a substance use disorder but also create or magnify symptoms of poor mental health, such as depression and anxiety.
Some of the issues related to being a member of a sexual minority that can be tackled in therapy include:
- Coming to terms with gender identification
- Acceptance of being a member of the LGBTQIA community
- Low self-esteem
- Coming out to loved ones
- Resolving discord with family members
- Coping with homophobia
- Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders
- Lack of pride
- Discrimination in career and schooling
Many therapy programs also include family therapy as an option for those who would like to use it. This can bring families together in a way that helps everyone accept their loved one’s identity, respect them, and contribute to helping them heal from addiction.
Benefits of LGBT Sober Living Homes
While some sober living homes accommodate only members of the LGBT community, many others welcome people from all identities. Treatment, in either case, is mostly identical, but those that include sexual minorities as part of their programs provide benefits not found in homes that do not do this. Some of the benefits of LGBT-friendly sober living homes include:
- Acceptance of everyone who identifies as LGBTQIA
- A safe and supportive home environment
- Opportunities to socialize with like-minded peers in recovery
- Sober living home staff that understands the challenges of the LGBTQIA community and accepts each person for who they are
- Treatment for any co-occurring mental health disorders
- The ability to address challenges unique to members of a sexual minority
- Help in creating a plan to come out to loved ones
LGBT Sober Living Homes in Atlanta
Are you a member of the LGBTQIA community looking for help overcoming addiction? Naturally, you want to get treatment from experts in the field of substance use disorders but also make sure they are friendly to all populations. Creekside Recovery Residences opens its doors to everyone seeking a new sober life. We provide beautifully decorated, modern homes that allow you to settle in and work on your recovery. You have access to effective outpatient care, including sources that help you deal with issues related to being LGBTQIA.
For more information about our LGBT sober living homes, visit our admissions page now and find out how we can help you help yourself.