Homosexuality In 'Perks Of Being A Wallflower'

Accepting being gay can be one of the hardest things to deal with. In the novel Perks of Being a Wallflower, a supporting character, Brad, realizes he is gay and finds it to be of the most difficult crises of his life. Brad chose to have sex with Patrick, but is not able to come out, and thus keeps their relationship a secret. After a long time of Brad staying in the closet, he encounters stages of depression identified by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) as “... loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities, including sex”, ”…feelings of guilt”, and “… persistent of sadness,” (Understanding the Facts…, 2016) which he self-medicates with use of substances, leading to an inability to manage his emotional and

After someone found Brad sleeping in a bedroom, Patrick and some guys called his father and once his father arrived he went home, after the party, “Brad’s parents sent him to rehabilitation because Brad’s father didn’t want him to miss his chance at a football scholarship”.(45) Before the party he may have started using substances as an excuse to have sex, but eventually they just became a form of self-medication for his depression. In The Huffington Post, Dr. Tian Dayton states, “Many people who suffer with undiagnosed depression or anxiety reach for alcohol or drugs to calm their nerves or relieve them of emotional pain.” Brad was one of those “many people” and soon it became an everyday thing for him which lead him to attending rehab. Throughout The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Brad is incapable of accepting the circumstances that he is gay and him using substances as self-medication is only hurting him more. Throughout this process Brad came across many obstacles that only led him to realize that he truly is gay but still not accepting it. Thus leading him to physical, mental, and emotional