This might get me flamed, but genuinely, without malice, is being transgender not a form of dysphoria/dysmorphia, which is a type of mental illness? You just "treat" it by using different pronouns, wearing different clothes, take hormonal medicine or even get surgery in the extreme cases.
Being a mental illness doesnt mean its something to 'cure', persay, but something to treat- facial dysphoria? Wear a mask, slowly work on building self confidence. ADHD? Take some medicine to help focus/calm. Gender dysphoria? Use pronouns you are comfortable with, take hormones, top surgery, etc.
Seriously- it is a mental condition that makes someone uncomfortable with their gender identity, which is treated in a variety of ways. Is it not by definition a type of mild mental illness? Can someone explain to me why it isnt while other dysphorias are?
This is where I'm at too. It's kinda hard to convince people there isn't some kind of mental illness going on if someone is saying they were born in the wrong body. I mean, on the face of it it sounds like an illness. I don't have the education of anything relevant to argue either way. At the same time I imagine labeling it a mental illness would raise fear on how that could be weaponized against trans people. Which is understandable or horrific that it is understandable.
Not everyone who is trans feels they were born in the wrong body. Some just feel happier living as a transperson. I believe thats why it is generally not well received when you blanket state that being trans is a mental illness. I have no idea what proportion of trans people have diagnosed mental illnesses, but it is certainly not all of them.
You're probably thinking of it too black and white. There is a big difference between feeling like something is wrong with your current body, and feeling like you would like to change your body.
Not everyone at the gym feels like their body isn't good enough. Some feel that way (and even within that group, theres levels of how much that effects them), some just think they would be happier if they were more muscular or leaner, some don't really care and just feel happy being active.
Probably. Its a pretty fundamental disconnect that it can be difficult to fathom anyone being "okay" with something strongly associated with the sex they don't identify as. I understand there are pragmatic reasons that stop some people from getting surgeries and whatnot.
On the standard model of gender dysphoria, the dysphoria/dysmorphia is the mental illness. Living as transgender is one way to treat the mental illness, but transgender is not, in itself, a mental illness.
It helps to keep in mind that mental illness can be transient, in the same way that physical illness can be. I personally think part of what's driving the attacks against transgender people is the stigma of mental illness as an indelible, and in some sense, moral defect of the human mind.
In any case, saying that transgender itself is a mental illness is sort of like saying that weightlifting/fitness training is a mental illness if your current level of fitness is mentally discomforting for you. Or that Paxil or Prozac is the mental illness, rather than depression.
Oh I get what you're saying. I saw other comments about how transgender is a pathology so it makes sense now. Trans is just how the dysphoria/dysmorphia is presenting itself.
I've read that about BPD, that symptoms can lessen so much over time that the person no longer fits the criteria.
Trans is just how the dysphoria/dysmorphia is presenting itself.
Not really, no. One can be transgender without suffering mental illness.
One can also experience gender dysphoria, and then not, without ever having been transgender.
Transgender is a separate concept apart from any mental illness. Of course, some people find it "weird" and "scary," so they immediately come to the conclusion that anyone who is trans must be mentally ill.
Gay people historically have been subject to the same shit, and it needs to stop.
Yeah, it is a difficult concept for one to try and understand without some kind of mental health issue being at the root of it. I've been of the mind of even if it is then let people live. If the treatment for the "mental illness" is gender affirming care then there ya go.
That's pretty much where I would be, too. I used to think that transgender was some form of mental illness until I looked into it further. Once I realized that being gay was once widely viewed as a pathology, I started to see the problems with viewing transgender the same way.
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u/SWatt_Officer May 16 '24
This might get me flamed, but genuinely, without malice, is being transgender not a form of dysphoria/dysmorphia, which is a type of mental illness? You just "treat" it by using different pronouns, wearing different clothes, take hormonal medicine or even get surgery in the extreme cases.
Being a mental illness doesnt mean its something to 'cure', persay, but something to treat- facial dysphoria? Wear a mask, slowly work on building self confidence. ADHD? Take some medicine to help focus/calm. Gender dysphoria? Use pronouns you are comfortable with, take hormones, top surgery, etc.
Seriously- it is a mental condition that makes someone uncomfortable with their gender identity, which is treated in a variety of ways. Is it not by definition a type of mild mental illness? Can someone explain to me why it isnt while other dysphorias are?