AS PART of this paper’ s Talk About It campaign, a Basingstoke and Deane Borough Councillor has given a heartfelt plea to help “someone that you might know”.

Last week The Gazette launched its campaign to coincide with the national Mental Health Awareness week (May 8 to 14), in a bid to help put an end to the stigma which surrounds mental health issues.

This is something which cabinet member for communities and community safety Cllr Simon Bound has supported and said he knows that talking about issues can be the hardest thing.

For someone who is a strong supporter of the town having its first Pride event, Cllr Bound believes people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) are often victims of homophobia or transphobia, which affects their mental health.

He said: “Coming out and accepting who you are is a process that is still difficult to do in our society. It can bring intense anxiety and fear of being rejected by family and friends.

“People can feel isolated and hopeless. I can still remember how I felt as a young person and that is now sometime ago.

“Young people who identify as LGBT often have a sense of being different from other children, usually as far back as they can remember.

“Often, those feelings get translated into: ‘There is something wrong with me’, ‘I am bad’, or simply ‘I am not good enough’.

“These simple phrases feel so true at the time and it is then easy to grow up into adulthood retaining those core beliefs.”

Many members of the LGBT community still have to deal with both external and internal homophobia today, causing a range of difficulties including, low self-esteem, eating disorders, depression and ultimately feeling suicidal.