The Damage of Silence: Bisexual Christians Discuss Mental Health

Abstract

This chapter focuses exclusively on mental health. It begins with a survey of recent surveys into the mental health of bisexual people or LGBT Christians, whilst noting that there currently exist no bespoke large-scale studies of the health of bisexual Christians as a distinct intersectional identity. Pastor and educators of bisexual people interviewed for this study then provide their views on why depressive illnesses are so prevalent among those they support, covering issues such as shame, isolation, biphobia, minority stress, lack of perceived identity legitimacy, self-harming and suicidality. The effects of all these stressors on actual bisexual Christians themselves are then documented, taken from interviews with bisexual participants. Positive aspects of being bisexual were also documented, though admittedly these were greatly outweighed by the perceived negative effects.