DO YOU HAVE GENDER DYSPHORIA?
Important and Helpful Information
What is Gender Dysphoria?
According to the National Health Service, United Kingdom (n.d.) the discomfort or distress one feels when there is a mismatch between the biological sex assigned at birth and the gender they identify with can be very complex and difficult to understand.
What Are the Primary Symptoms of Gender Dysphoria?
-A desire to live as a person of the opposite sex.
-The desire to be rid of their own genitals.
-Dressing and behaving in a manner typical of the opposite sex.
-Withdrawal from social interaction and activity.
-Feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety.
Not conforming to societal norms of one's biological gender is not necessarily a disorder; one must feel a great deal of distress and/or discomfort with their assigned biological gender before a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria is made (WebMD, 2014).
What Are Some of the Causes of Gender Dysphoria?
There are psychological theories of how Gender Dysphoria develop that focus on family dynamics, or how parents might shape their children's gender identity through behavior reinforcement, but the evidence supporting these theories is weak (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011).
What Are Some Common Myths & Misperceptions About Gender Dysphoria?
Another common misperception about Gender Dysphoria is that it means an individual is homosexual when, in fact, people with the disorder may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or asexual (NHS, U.K., n.d.).
Also, as noted by Nolen-Hoeksema (2011) the term 'Gender Identity Disorder' (as Gender Dysphoria was previously known) was found to be stigmatizing in a survey of transgendered individuals, so has been rejected and replaced with the newer and non-stigmatizing term.
Getting Help
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References
National Health Service Choices, United Kingdom. (n.d.). Gender Dysphoria. Retrieved
from http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2011). Abnormal psychology (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
WebMD. (2014, August 21). Gender Dysphoria. WebMD Medical Reference. Retrieved from