Mental Health and the LGBTQ community with Martin Stark, Karina Murray and Emma Smith
Alasdair Hooper hosts the fourth Mental Health Awareness Week episode all themed around mental health and sport in the LGBTQ community.
Joining the podcast for the discussion are Karina Murray, of Sporting Pride Ireland, Assistant Editor at Goal, Emma Smith, and also Martin Stark, the CEO and founder of the World Gay Boxing Championships.
Of course, being from the LGBTIQ+ community doesn’t mean you will automatically have issues with your mental health.
However, a recent Stonewall study found that over the previous year half of LGBTIQ+ people had experienced depression and three in five had experienced anxiety.
One in eight LGBTIQ+ people aged 18-24 had attempted to end their life and almost half of trans people half thought about taking their life.
Listen to the podcast episode below
Each one of our guests also has their own story to tell.
For Mark, he didn’t come out until the age of 27 and he came close to dying in 2017 from Addison’s Disease, an experience that prompted him to take a self-defence class and then boxing that has made him the man he is today.
Karina also struggled to find out who she was growing up, but it was the LGBT clubs in Ireland where she really came to understand and accept who she was.
For Emma, she came out in 2019 as transgender and explains in this episode how she came to discover her own identity.
This is an incredibly in-depth episode but by sharing their stories, and their advice, it will hopefully help someone who may find themselves in a difficult situation.
LISTEN: Chris Murphy: The turbulent world of addiction recovery
Interview: Alasdair Hooper
All music in this episode is courtesy of Otis McDonald
Images: With thanks to Martin Stark, Karina Murray and Emma Smith
Mental Health Awareness Week is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation. You can find more information and support it here.
Visit Sporting Pride Ireland here
Find out more about the World Gay Boxing Championships here
Follow Martin Stark here
Follow Emma Smith here
Visit MindOut, the LGBTQ mental health service here
If you are struggling with your mental health here are some organisations who can help
- Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org, in confidence
- Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and won’t show up on your bill
- PAPYRUS: A voluntary organisation supporting suicidal teens and young adults. Phone 0800 068 4141
- Depression Alliance: A charity for people with depression.
- Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, have low mood, or are suicidal.
- Bullying UK: A website for both children and adults affected by bullying.
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): For young men who are feeling unhappy. Helpline 0800 58 58 58
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