This is 20 min. well spent of your time.

9 million (about 3.8%) of Americans identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender according to a study released by the Williams Institute at UCLA’s School of Law.

The study gathered data from nine surveys conducted over the last seven years. Interesting, the study found that bisexuals make up 1.8% of the population, while 1.7% are gay or lesbian. Transgender adults make up 0.3% of the population.

Beyond those identifying as LGBT, 8.2% of Americans report participating in same-sex sexual activity and an estimated 11% of adults held some same-sex sexual attraction. Neither of these officially identified as LGBT.

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Gay and bisexual teens are five times as likely as heterosexual peers to attempt suicide, according to new research

Drawing on demographic information from six recent surveys, Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law, recently reported there are more than 8 million adults in the U.S. who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult population. There are also nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the U.S. bringing the total number of Americans who identify as LGBT to approximately 9 million. In related findings, Gates states that an estimated 19 million Americans (8.2%) report that they have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and nearly 25.6 million (11%) acknowledge at least some same-sex sexual attraction.

Whether we are in a brand new relationship or have been married for forty years, when it comes to talking with our partners about sex, panic can often set in.

When we imagine the potential for rejection and drama, taking a risk like that with someone we love can often feel too great. This is probably the reason so few of us do try to share the really difficult stuff of our sexual lives. Here are ideas on raising those hard-to-raise issues.

Learning to be mindful or our assumptions, beliefs, and evaluations can lead to a more positive state of mind by disciplining the mind and gaining awareness.

How, specifically does mindfulness lead to more positivity?

Mindfulness leads to less worry. When we are mindful we are able to be in the present moment, and are more focused on what we

Our brains are not hardwired for optimism or pessimism, so you can learn to accentuate the positive. Here’s how:

• Learn to meditate. An eight-week program of daily mindfulness meditation — trying to stay in the moment without distracting thoughts — increased activation of the left prefrontal lobe in study subjects.
• Think in threes. Approximately three positive moments are needed to counteract one negative one, according to Fredrickson. So volunteer, listen to music you like, or pet a puppy.
• Write it down. Martin Seligman, the psychologist who authored the book Authentic Happiness, suggests you create a journal. Every night, write down three good things that happened that day — and include an explanation for why each happened.

Loneliness is not only emotionally painful; it can harm your health. It’s a risk factor for a host of problems: high blood pressure; sleep problems; decreased ability to deal with the stress of daily life; and the body’s reduced ability to handle inflammation, leading to conditions such as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and tendinitis, as well as a weakened immune system, so you’re more susceptible to illness. Researchers have yet to identify the exact ways these health problems occur, but they know that loneliness seems to make them worse.

Researchers found that physical pain and intense emotional pain, such as feelings of rejection after a bad breakup of a relationship, activate the same