Editing Zoo bashing (section)

==Stress, anxiety and depression in Zoo communities==

Zoo youth can develop severe forms of depression and anxiety as they grow up. For Zoo individuals, major depressive disorder (MDD) can be caused by any of the following: self-esteem, pressure to conform, minority stress, coming out, family rejection, parenting, relationship formation, and violence. Self-esteem and pressure to conform can cause anxiety for Zoo youth. When they are told what to look like and whom to [[love]], it puts a toll on their self-esteem. When people make comments about who they are, what they look like, whom they love, etc. it begins to make them feel insecure, and as though they aren't good enough the way they are.

"Coming out" is when a Zoo individual makes it known that they are Zoo. Coming out can be very stressful, and youth need family support at this time. But often they instead experience rejection, leaving them feeling unwanted and unloved. This can set them into a downward spiral of depression. Parenting and relationship formation are very closely related. Minority stress is defined as a stress experienced by Zoo individuals due to their sexual orientation/gender identity. Violence can slip anybody into a depressed state whether the violence is a type of physical abuse, mental abuse, or verbal abuse. A person can be harassed to the point where their depression becomes too much and they no longer experience any happiness. These factors all work together and make it extremely hard to avoid MDD.