Seeking a mature point of view Good evening, I am writing to this forum because I have come to a point in my life where I'm feeling very ambiguous about the direction my life is heading, and questioning whether it's going to be a life worth living. I am 24 years old, and for years I have been struggling with my same-sex attractions. The basis of this struggle comes from the fact that I was raised in a strong, religious household with extremely conservative views. I have kept these feelings concealed until about a year and a half ago, when I met a woman and we both decided to act on our feelings for each other. After a couple of months, the relationship ended badly. I've been struggling with my residual feelings for her, and have been feeling extremely lonely and isolated, so last year I decided that perhaps it would be good idea to get connected with the LGBT community by volunteering at my local pride center and joining their "Bi Group". I thought I could make friends and create a support system, but instead I felt excluded. The group was very "cliquey" which made it difficult to make connections and build relationships. As a result, I decided to quit that voluntary position, which has added to my feelings of loneliness and depression. Plus, I am a full-time college student and I work full-time, so it's hard to maintain any kind of a social life. But when I have made attempts in the past to reach out to certain ones, I continue to be shut down. I've discussed my situation with a few therapists, but I really don't feel like therapy has helped any. Yes, it's good to talk to someone about your feelings, but I don't feel that they are helping me to come up with solutions to my issues. I don't have a close relationship with my family, and they just recently relocated out of state, so I can't really discuss this with them. I also recently decided to stop attending church (which is one of the reasons why my family and I are not close), thus I've lost any kind of support from members of the congregation. I don't have any friends or anyone who cares for me, and that's a fact of life that is really destroying me inside...

OK, feel free to email me with cl anon addy by clicking on my handle. Find an accepting church. United Church of Christ, Episcopal, or Metropolitan Community Churches are generally best. (read church websites to look for words like inclusive, affirming, welcoming or mention of an actual LGBTI group or church based pride activities). Contact Soulforce.org for info. Read "a letter to Louise" (google it)get your theology together.

I did not even notice you posted from SLC Soulforce will still have info for you. They deal with all faiths. So if you are from LDS background, there are safe places for you. And support from an LDS LGBT support group would be very helpful.