Coming out is a lifelong event. Every time we meet someone new, every time we start a new job, or move to a new neighborhood or town, we make a choice as to when, how, or if to come out to every single person or set of people. We may not choose to be gay, but we constantly choose whether or not to come out as a gay. This is often exhilarating and always interesting, but even in the best of times, it can be occasionally overwhelming. When choosing to come out, toughing it out alone is often dysfunctional and needlessly lonely.
Today there are community support groups in most cities.
There are gay and lesbian affirmative therapists who are widely available. There are community-based organizations that have arisen out of the need for emotional support. We should grab hold of every bit of it we can find. Coming out reverberates into the world around us. It sets in motion a chain reaction in the lives of people we know and the organizations we affect.