Gender dysphoria is a disconnect between the sex with which the person was born and their gender identity, that is, the person who was born with a man, but who has an inner sense of woman and vice versa. with gender dysphoria you may also feel that you are neither a man nor a woman, that it is a combination of the two, or that your gender identity is changing.
For example, people with gender dysphoria feel trapped in a body they don’t consider their own, showing feelings of anxiety, suffering, anxiety, irritability and even depression.
Treatment consists of psychotherapy, hormone therapy and, in more extreme cases, sex-change surgery.
Gender dysphoria usually develops around age 2, however, some people may recognize feelings of gender dysphoria only when they reach adulthood.
Children with gender dysphoria often develop the following symptoms
In addition, children can also avoid games of the opposite sex, or if the child is a woman, they can urinate standing or pee sitting, if it is a child.
Some people with gender dysphoria only recognize this problem when they are adults and may start by wearing women’s clothing and only realize that they have gender dystrophy, but it should not be confused with cross-dressing. excitement when wearing clothes of the opposite sex, which does not imply that they have an inner sense of belonging to that sex.
In addition, some people with gender dysphoria may marry or perform an activity characteristic of their own sex, to mask these feelings and deny the feeling of wanting to belong to another sex.
People who do not recognize gender dysphoria into adulthood may also develop symptoms of depression and suicidal behavior, as well as anxiety for fear of not being accepted by family and friends.
When this problem is suspected, a psychologist should be consulted for a symptom-based evaluation, which is usually not done until after 6 years.
Diagnosis is confirmed in cases where people have been feeling for 6 months or more that their sex organs are not compatible with their gender identity, have an aversion to their anatomy, feel extreme anxiety, lose desire and motivation to perform the tasks of everyday life. , feel the desire to get rid of sexual traits that begin to appear at puberty and believe in the opposite sex.
Adults with gender dysphoria who do not feel anxious and are able to live their daily lives without suffering generally do not need treatment, however, if this problem causes a lot of suffering in the person, there are several forms of treatment such as psychotherapy or hormonal. therapy and, in the most severe cases, sex-change surgery, which is irreversible.
Psychotherapy consists of a series of sessions, accompanied by a psychologist or psychiatrist, in which the objective is not to change the person’s sense of gender identity, but to face the suffering caused by the anxiety of feeling in a body that does not belong to you or that does not feel accepted by society.
Hormone therapy is a drug-based therapy that contains hormones that alter secondary sexual characteristics. In the case of men, the drug used is a female hormone, estrogen, which causes breast growth, a decrease in penis size and the inability to maintain an erection.
In the case of women, the hormone used is testosterone, which causes more hair to grow throughout the body, including beard, changes in fat distribution throughout the body, changes in voice, which worsens and changes in body odor.
Gender change surgery is performed to adapt the physical and genital characteristics of the person with gender dysphoria, so that the person can have the body with which he or she feels comfortable, this surgery can be performed on both sexes and consists of the construction of new genitalia and the removal of other organs. .
In addition to surgery, hormone treatment and psychological support should also be performed in advance, in order to confirm that the new physical identity is really appropriate for the person, find out how and where this surgery is performed.
Transsexuality is the most extreme form of gender dysphoria, the majority being biologically male, identifying with the female sex, developing feelings of disgust towards their sexual organs.