Multiple bills impacting the LGBTQ+ community are circulating during the Florida legislative session.
Proposals include banning pride flags on government buildings, expanding the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law into workplaces, and making it easier for the attorney general to sue school staff and health care providers.
Critics are worried they'll be used to target people who support and treat transgender people.
Regardless of whether the bills pass, therapists say the proposals alone impact the mental health of queer and transgender Floridians — youth in particular.
A study published last year showed 69% LGBTQ+ Florida youth polled have considered moving to another state because of politics and laws that single them out.
“It really is just so daunting for a lot of people to experience, just the unsteadiness, the thinking that this is never going to end, like it's just kind of ‘Where's the light at the end of the tunnel?’” said Shea Dickey, a mental health clinician in Tampa.
“We feel safe because something gets denied and struck down, and then here comes another bill that's being proposed that is either equivalent to the one that just got struck down or it's even worse," Dickey continued.
Dickey said this leads to higher rates of depression and anxiety for her patients, and treatment can be tricky.
“A lot of times, when we talk about anxiety and depression, we're able to recognize a good amount is, like, intrusive thoughts,” Dickey said.
But then, there are times clients come with concerns from things actively happening in the world and in the media, Dickey stated.
"It makes it difficult to kind of conjure up what it is that we're going to work on in order to help them cope with it, because it's not unrealistic concerns," Dickey continued.
Florida has one of the biggest populations of LGBTQ-identifying residents in the country, according to data from the Williams Institute. Lawmakers routinely propose legislation that directly impacts the community, some of which has served as a model for other states, like the 2022 "Parental Rights in Education" law, or what critics call "Don't Say Gay."
Aside from therapy, Dickey recommends that LGBTQ+ people limit their doomscrolling, focus on things they can actively control and find community in queer-led organizations.
“I do encourage them to figure out what they do have control over, and one of those things can be getting out and supporting a cause that means a lot to them, because then they get to leave feeling like they had a part in something."
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or the Crisis Text Line by texting SAVE to 741741.
Some local resources
Equality Florida: Florida’s largest civil rights organization, “changing Florida through lobbying, grassroots organizing, education, and coalition building.”
TransNetwork: A trans-led organization that hosts workshops, community events and more.
Fitzlane Project: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing funding to underprivileged transgender youth in the Greater Tampa Bay, Florida area for LGBTQIA+ specialized therapeutic sessions.
TIGLFF (previously an acronym for he Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival): Community events, film festivals and more.
PFLAG: An LGBTQ advocacy organization founded and led by friends and family of LGBTQ people, with chapters all over the state.
Other resources
The Trevor Project: Touted as the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people.
Transgender Law Center: A national, trans-led organization setting litigation victories for trans people, including employment, prison conditions, education, immigration, and health care.
Trans Lifeline: A grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community.
