Imagine feeling disconnected from your own body. It’s not a feeling a lot of us can relate to, but for trans and non-binary individuals, it’s something that’s felt every day.
There is no doubt that we respect everyone as their individual however they choose to identify, but our questions are more focused on the why’s of gender dysphoria.
What can cause an individual to feel disconnected and highly dissatisfied from their assigned genders, and better yet, what can we do to ease some of that tension?
What used to be known as Gender Identity Disorder is now termed Gender Dysphoria and is the stress between one assigned gender and one’s gender identity.
It is described as a distressful experience due to incongruence between one’s gender identity and the gender one was assigned at birth.
There are feelings of estrangement in an individual’s own body and oftentimes, a person with Gender Dysphoria feels a sense of detachment from their true identity.
Those experiencing gender dysphoria have feelings of:
A very strong desire for gender that differs from the one assigned at birth
A strong desire to be treated as their identifying gender
Having a deep dislike of the genitals they were born with
A strong desire for genitals and physical characteristics that match their gender identity
Trans-women, trans-men, and non-binary are all terms you may have heard of recently in the media, or on social media. To provide some clarification, here are some simple definitions you can use to distinguish what it means.
Trans-woman: A trans-woman is a woman, or identifying woman, who was a male at birth.
Trans-man: A trans man is a manor identifying man, who was a female at birth.
Non-Binary
A non-binary person is someone who is not exclusively male or female. Sometimes people may experience gender on a spectrum. Understanding this loosens the concrete definitions of gender and opens up definitions of gender to the complex system that it is!
Gender dysphoria is not an illness but the distress felt from it can be linked to mental health problems such as schizophrenia, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts. Paired with this is a disconnect between how society regards you and how you feel mentally and physically. This tension can be problematic and cause anxiety, distress, and depression.
Gender dysphoria may or may not be felt by a trans person and has recently been removed by the World Health Organization as a symptom or inherent part of the trans experience. This means that a trans person may or may not experience gender dysphoria but it isn’t absolute to the trans experience.
There is no link that trauma causes gender dysphoria, however, is it possible for trauma to be linked to gender dysphoria? The simple answer is yes, it can, but we know it’s much more complicated than that.
Often, when we experience trauma our mind attempts to protect itself by creating defence mechanisms. This is the brain's way of protecting itself. This sometimes comes in the form of dissociation and detachment, which may cause an individual to feel detached from or separated from their bodies.
Trauma can range from mild to severe and can be experienced after things like bullying, emotional or sexual abuse, traumatic events like an accident or a death, variations of grief, and so on.
However, this perspective also causes misinformation and trauma in the transgender community, as we cannot, of course, paint everyone with the same brush.
The feeling derives from a disconnect and dissatisfaction with your assigned gender but we don’t assume that because you are trans, you suffer from body dysphoria.
There are many reasons that a person may feel a disassociation recently with their assigned sex including genetics, hormones, influences during prenatal development and environmental factors.
The goal here is not to change the way a person sees their gender, rather deal with the emotions that gender dysphoria introduces in their lives.
Treatment options may include open exploration of their gender identity and expression without bias or encouragement to convert one's gender. It is unethical to attempt to convert or attempt “gender identity conversion therapy”.
Ways we treat gender dysphoria
Talk therapy is a popular solution in treating gender dysphoria to align someone’s physical appearance to how they feel inside. Oftentimes, dressing differently, choosing a different name, and taking steps to pass as the opposite gender helps to relieve feelings of stress and anxiety associated with gender dysphoria.
This includes:
Working on accepting yourself
Addressing the mental and emotional implications of minority stress
Building a supportive network
Developing a plan to address social and legal issues including name changes, coming out to friends and family, and coming out at work
Being comfortable expressing your gender identity
Make decisions about your medical options
Increase your overall well being and satisfaction of life
There are many different ways that people choose to affirm their gender identities. In social and legal ways individuals may choose to change their names, use different pronouns, or wear new clothes. In medical ways, taking gender-affirming hormones like estrogen or estrogen, or having gender reassignment surgery. Some medical ways people may choose to affirm their gender is.
Hormone therapy including testosterone therapy for trans men, and estrogen therapy for trans women
Gender reassignment surgery, including top surgery (for trans-men) the removal of the external genitalia, internal genitalia, sculpting facial features to look either more masculine or feminine and body contouring
Gender dysphoria is real but it doesn’t have to determine the quality of your life. There are many ways we can lessen the symptoms of gender dysphoria including by creating supportive environments recently and bridging the gap between your inner gender identity and your sex assigned at birth.
Build supportive and loving relationships with friends, peers and family is one way to feel heard, understood, and supported. This is your tribe and the people you can talk to about the way you are feeling.
Seek out support groups with other transgender or non-binary people can help you feel included in a community that can relate to your experience. Seek out LGBTQ community centres or spaces in your hometown and attend support groups.
Prioritize self-care by eating well, getting enough sleep and exercising. It may sound simple but this is a basic formula that everyone can rely on to set a great self-care foundation for themselves. Make time for yourself to reconnect with you and do the things you love.
Meditation or prayer can help you find support in your spirituality and faith.
Remember to maintain your mental health and seek out a professional who can talk with you about feelings surrounding relationships, anxiety, depression and self-acceptance. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and be prepared to open up about your own experiences. This is a path we can walk together.
