How to Come Out of the Closet – 5 Easy Steps

How to Come Out of the Closet Tell Someone You are Gay

Deciding how to come out of the closet is the biggest step you will ever take to being honest and true to yourself and the people around you.  This goes beyond just being “out” in terms of your sexuality but in everything about your life.

Coming out means having no more secrets, no deep dark demons hiding away, and no more barriers that separate your true identity from the person you really want to be.  Coming out is scary – that’s why we want to walk you step-by-step and give you the best help we can on how to come out of the closet.

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How to Come Out of the Closet

How to Come out of the Closet

Learning how to come out of the closet will not only allow you to live a more honest and open life but also start to be proud of your identity and sexuality.  It is possibly one of the best things you can do for your own happiness.

Deciding how to come out of the closet can seem huge or even impossible, and the most difficult part is figuring out where to begin.   Like any big problem, the best thing to do is approach it one step at a time – start small and move up from there.

So, where should you begin?

Coming Out is All About Timing

gay Man Timing

Timing has quite a few different meanings.  What is most important is to consider both your immediate future and in the long term.

First, you want to assess your current situation. Think a few months or a few years ahead.  Everyone’s situation is different and therefore needs to be approached differently.  

If your family is very conservative, or you are financially reliant on them, then you may want to opt for a time. Maybe wait when you are more independent and have your own personal support and space to live.

What about your friends, or mentors? Do you have someone you feel you can truly trust, or who you feel comfortable telling?

If you are in a situation where you have a supportive environment then you are the best judge of timing.

Come out when you feel safe and comfortable.  I told my parents in high school and took a bit of a risk, but I am glad I did.  It worked well for me.

Pick the Right Person to Come Out To

How to Come Out of the Closet

Choosing the first person or friend to come out to is crucial. Deciding who to tell first is an essential step when planning how to come out of the closet.

For some people, finding this person can be a no-brainer – be it your best friend, your boyfriend, or a close teacher.  What matters is that the person you choose respects your privacy and is there to support you, work with you, and make the process easier.

If they are a gossiper or someone who isn’t the best at keeping secrets, you might want to look elsewhere.  Rumors can spread like wildfire, and YOU want to stay in control.  After all, this is your decision and therefore, YOURS to tell.

How to Come Out to a Close Friend

How to Come Out of the Closet Tell a Friend

Before you dive into telling your family, you should first test the waters and gain experience by coming out to a close friend. Choosing someone you can trust can make coming out a whole lot easier.

Think of this as your trial run that will not just let you get the words out of your mouth for the first time (which can be hard enough in the first place), but let you have someone to talk to and come back to for advice as you begin to move on to more difficult endeavors.

Getting a feel for simply saying the words “I am Gay, Bi, Trans…”, whatever your situation, it is building up a base of confidence with a friend you can trust – this is key.  Having an outside perspective can help you to make good decisions for when you do decide to come out to the people you care most about.

Learning how to come out of the closet to a close friend can make the process of telling your family or other people in your life much easier.

Make a Coming Out Plan

make a coming out plan

No matter what happens, there are always two possible scenarios – either things go better than you could have imagined, or things don’t go as planned.

Either way, no matter what end of the spectrum you end up on, you should think ahead and plan for either scenario.

Considder All Possibilities

If by chance things go on without a problem and the person you tell ends up supporting you with no questions asked, then that is great!  That means you can sleep a bit easier!

But there is also a chance that the opposite will happen.  There might be tears,  there might be sadness, anger, or rejection.  The key is to think ahead and consider all possibilities.

This is not to say this will happen to you – that you will get kicked out or your family will explode!  As I said, this is a worst-case scenario, but the most important thing is to plan and be ready for any situation. Deciding how to come out of the closet and planning ahead for multiple scenarios will help set you up for success in the long run.

These last few paragraphs may sound a little scary, but they should not turn you away!  This is only to give you an idea of all the types of situations you may encounter, and in my experience, the people I was most afraid to tell, were actually the easiest!

Build a Supportive Circle

how to come out of the closet build a support circle

This is where your friends that you have already told come in to support you.

You should consult these people who already know to help make the process easier.  Share your plans with them before you make your move so that you have someone to talk to, support you and help you through the roughest times.

In the case that things go really badly, you should also try and have a place you can stay for a few nights, with a friend or close family member to try and give each other some space.  New information takes time to process, and everyone reacts differently.

Coming Out to Your Family

How to Come Out of the Closet Telling your Family

Now that you have told a few close friends and have a bit of practice of how to come out of the closet under your belt, it is time to move up the family.  Coming out of the closet to your family definitely has a higher risk, but with this comes much higher rewards.

Don’t come out of the closet, for example, when they are driving, in a busy restaurant, or in any situation that they can’t give their full attention.  This is an emotional process for the both of you and may be more jarring on them than you expect, so choose a place that you can both be safe and comfortable.

Do choose a secure, comfortable environment then look at your routine and pick a time. You want a situation where you have privacy, and you are both in comfortable and familiar places.

It is ok to be scared and nervous, but if you are really determined to tell them, it is important to stay strong and keep moving forward.

You may try to tell them and not be able to get the words out. That is ok. What’s most important is that if you decide you want to come out to your parents that you…

Don’t Give Up!

Tell someone you are gay

You may freeze up, you may fail to get the words out, your plans may get pushed back again and again, but don’t GIVE UP!  I can not tell you the number of times I was ready to tell my mom, the words were on the very tip of my tongue, my speech rehearsed in my head playing over and over again, yet no matter how hard I tried, my lips just wouldn’t move!

Chances are you will have a flurry of emotions and thoughts flying around in your head holding you back.  And that is OK!  The only person who you need to worry about is you – your comfort and your timetable.  You should never feel rushed or pressured, and when the time is right, then one day the words will finally come out and you will say,

“I Am Gay”

Congratulations! You have just done, possibly one of the most difficult, but rewarding things in your life!  Things may not be perfect overnight but it is reason enough for you to celebrate and recognize the leap of courage you have taken to be more open and honest with your family and with yourself.

Give it Some Time

how to come out of the closet give it time

What I find time and time again is that if someone truly and honestly loves you, be it a friend or family, they will ultimately accept you, no matter their pre-dispositions.  True love and friendship are often more powerful and surprising than you might imagine.

It takes time for people to get process a different sexuality that may have never even crossed their minds in the first place.

For someone like your parents, this may totally re-shape their future idea of you marrying and having biological children, which yes, is slowly becoming possible for gay people too, but can be a big adjustment of their ideas of you and your future happiness.

It may take some time for them to truly digest and accept, but once they do, your relationship and openness with one another will be on a different level than it ever was before. Patience is important in understanding how to come out of the closet to your family.

Like is said, coming out was one of the best decisions I ever made for my confidence, relationships, and identity.  Things are pretty great now, but I didn’t get to where I am today overnight!

Coming Out Gets Easier

how to come out of the closet gets Better

This may only be your first time to tell someone that you are gay, and it may seem scary and overwhelming, but every time it gets a little bit easier as you become more confident in yourself. One day “coming out” becomes second nature, and you aren’t even coming out of the closet anymore – you are just being you! We have feature lots of other personal stories of how to come out of the closet on our site (Read More Here).

Coming out of the closet sucks sometimes, but it can also be extremely rewarding, helping to reassure the confidence in yourself, and allowing you to be honest with people you care most about.  There is nothing more liberating than living life fully and openly with no more secrets to hide.

This is our full guide to how to come out of the closet. Do you have any tips or suggestions of your own? Let us know in the comments below!

Cover Image Courtesy of Hernán Piñera through Flikr Creative Common

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