Coming out is a series of stages and your experiences can be influenced by the stage of life you are in.  Coming out involves talking about your feelings about being gay, lesbian, bisexual and with that comes working out your personal relationships whilst making sure you have positive supports.

Coming out can be challenging for anyone, at any age. Younger people often struggle with coming out at school, whilst older people may find it challenging to introduce their sexuality to people that have known them a long time, particularly if they have been married before. Young people may be considered by mainstream society to be exploring their sexuality and once they snap out of this phase will be straight again. These young people they may not be taken seriously or accepted when disclosing their sexual identity, which can be frustrating.

On the other hand, older people with an emerging gay, lesbian, bisexual identity, particularly after a heterosexual marriage breakdown, may find themselves experiencing an identity struggle akin to a second adolescence. Sexuality becomes a significant part of their identity and they may find themselves asking questions like: Am I still a good person? Will my family still love me? Did I make the right decision? How will my decision affect other people in my life?

The important thing to remember is that coming out is hard for most people and that homophobia can influence your willingness to share your sexuality with people. So if you are thinking about coming out to friends, family or work/school peers consider: how out are you able to be? How easy or hard it will be to be out? Who is the most accepting/least accepting, and how does homophobia affect you?