Pat's Answer

I am scared to come out

Your Question

im scared of coming out to my extremely home parents. i feel like id get disowned

Answer

You are very welcome to Ask Pat.

It seems like you are struggling with opening up to your parents about your sexuality. It sounds like telling your parents is important to you, but you feel that they may disown you. 

You are so brave to reach out to us for support. It sounds like you have been thinking about telling your parents and you are very worried about how they may react.  Your sexual identity is a part of what makes you unique! It’s understandable you fear telling your parents and that you are worried of the consequences. This seems like a big step in the direction you are looking to go. There are different stages in the process of coming out and it’s important you do this at your own pace.  

You have a right to be accepted for who you are and a right to get support. Talking can really help. Do you have a trusted adult or a friend you can talk to? We all need support in relation to what is going on for us and you have the right to get support too.

There are support groups to help you. How would you feel about getting in touch with them?  You might find it helpful to look at the following websites: www.lgbt.ie; www.spunout.ie; www.belongto.org. There are lots of articles on these websites which you may find useful. The Childline website also has information about identity and our individual uniqueness that you might be interested in reading  www.childline.ie/sexuality/.   

Might you like to contact Childline? We are here to listen to you. Childline services are free and available to you through web chat at www.childline.ie  or if you prefer to phone and speak to us, the number is 1800 66 66 66. We also have a text service where you can reach us at 51010. You are very welcome to get in contact with us and we will listen to everything that is going on for you. There is neither a good nor a bad time to phone us. Childline is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Any of our Team would love to hear from you and discuss your feelings. We can help you explore some options that may be available to you. Every call, text or chat we get is important to us, so please know that you will be most welcome.   

It was great hearing from you, and please do contact us anytime.  

Take care of yourself and be safe,   

Pat 

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