What Minority Stress Means for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, & More

What Is Minority Stress?

Minority stress is a term that encompasses the stressful situations and experiences someone encounters based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity. While minority stress can be situational, it tends to be perpetual or chronically stressful in nature, because it is centered on a facet of an individual’s existence that does not change.¹

The Limitations of the Minority Stress Model

While the Minority Stress Model has received ample empirical support, some criticize this theory stating that it ignores stress buffering and resilience among gender and sexual minority populations. Other critics claim that it is not minority stress, but a lack of social safety, that leads to health disparities in minoritized groups. They define social safety to include social connection, inclusion, protection, recognition, and acceptance.¹²

While focusing on individual social situations can help create a picture to better understand minority stress and health disparities, it is important to consider the broader society’s systems and beliefs that are pervasive and impactful.

Impacts of Minority Stress

People who experience minority stress can be at increased risk for substance misuse and mental health challenges. They may struggle with internalized rejection and shame.¹³ Minority populations report higher rates of suicide, rejection, victimization, and harassment.¹⁴ Minorities can also have lower rates of physical health, and experts have confirmed that stress can lead to an increase in high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease.¹⁵

Rodriguez states, “There may also be a risk of heightened paranoia or being hyper-aware of any potential rejection or threat, irritability, lack of felt sense of connection and acceptance, a tendency towards social isolation, increased sense of shame/guilt, and many other negative impacts.”

Coping With Minority Stress

While minority stress can be unavoidable, there can be healthy ways to manage it, like:

Be Aware of Your Stressors 

Rodriguez suggests, “First, start to see the ways minority stress presents in your life. By shining a light of awareness on it, you can begin to see how to work towards change. As you begin to notice minority stress and the self-sabotaging thoughts that may accompany it, you can begin to challenge those thoughts by replacing them with countering thoughts, those that seek to lift you and affirm your positive qualities. If this is hard to do, find others who can do this for you. Seek out friends, family, content creators, etc. that celebrate the beauty that makes you different.”

Focus on Positive Coping & Self-Care

Eating healthy, developing a good sleep regimen, and connecting with social supports can all be ways to cope with stress.¹⁷ Limiting alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco can also be beneficial in dealing with stress as well as making sure that you stay hydrated.¹⁸

Seek Affirmative-Based Therapy & Supports

Affirmative-based therapy is an approach that aims to validate and advocate for the needs of sexual and gender minority clients. This affirming stance is communicated in therapy to best support the client, particularly in the context of minority stress. Mindfulness has also been shown to be helpful when used in conjunction with affirmative-based therapy.¹⁶

Practice Mindfulness

Engaging in mindfulness exercises like meditating and grounding can help you become more self-aware and practice self-compassion. Mindfulness can help with concentration and calming down the stress response that is triggered in the part of the brain called the amygdala.¹⁹

When to Get Professional Help for Minority Stress

It’s important to keep in mind that we all deal with stress differently. However, it’s important to be aware of some of the signs that you need to get some additional support and professional help. Seeing a healthcare professional like a therapist, psychiatrist, or primary care doctor can be an essential first step in addressing stress-related physical and mental challenges.

It can be helpful to meet with a mental health professional who understands your concerns, whether that be a Black, Latinx, or LGBTQ+ therapist. You can ask your primary care provider for a referral, or use an online therapist directory where you can sort by specialty and insurance coverage.

Here are three signs you should seek professional help for minority stress:

1. Significant sleep difficulties: If you have difficulty sleeping more than four hours per night or find yourself sleeping for over 12 hours at a time regularly, it is an indication that you need professional intervention. Additionally, experiencing perpetual night terrors or nightmares can also be a sign that stress is adversely affecting you.
2. Feelings of perpetual hopelessness or helplessness: While feeling sadness is a normal part of life, feeling that there is no hope or that you are completely helpless can be an indication of severe depression.
3. Interpersonal relationship struggles: Stress can harm our relationships with others. Frequent conflicts, communication difficulties, and feeling disconnected from social support can be an indication that you need a professional resource.