CaptainCourtesy

I agree. My post was unclear. I should have included the word "desire" to denote the varying levels.

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"Never fear. Him is here" - Captain Chaos (Dom DeLuise), Cannonball Run

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CaptainCourtesy

That's true, though, preliminarily, accurate.

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"Never fear. Him is here" - Captain Chaos (Dom DeLuise), Cannonball Run

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CaptainCourtesy

There is a difference. The issues around Anorexia remain even if liposuction occurs. Weight is not the issue with anorexics; control and mood modulation is. With BIID, OCD components and self-injurious components are also looking to be resolved. GID is caused by the disconnect between gender and genitalia. Issues do not remain after SRT.

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"Never fear. Him is here" - Captain Chaos (Dom DeLuise), Cannonball Run

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CaptainCourtesy

Firstly, welcome to the forum. Your input is helpful in this issue. As a treating psychotherapist I have not worked with anyone with BIID, but I have read much of the research, including visiting your site, previously.

From what I understand, what you say above is only part of the picture. There is also a component of envy of the disabled and desire to identify with someone they feel like. From your website, one of the symptoms that will, probably, be included as diagnostic criteria for BIID in the DSM-V:

My comment was showing a differential between GID and BIID. GID sufferers do not have a similar symptom.

That is certainly interesting to know.

I am aware of the difference, and misspoke. Impaired is the accurate word. Penned the post after an insomniatic night. Thank you.

A BIID sufferer gains the experience of being impaired, understanding what being impaired is, and, feeling whole because of being impaired. A GID already is the gender that SRT will accomplish for them. A BIID sufferer is not impaired prior to any surgery.



Well, not really. We do not seek body alteration. We seek to align our psyche with our body. The fact that the only way to currently do this involves body alteration is nearly irrelevant.

That's not completely true. Unconscious motivations and anxieties that create rituals and OCD can, certainly be caused by a need/desire for acceptance. This could be the "trigger" point or the deep motivation, but is often lost through years of ritualistic behavior. It's like Pavlov's Dog. If the behavior is repeated for a long enough time, the trigger is often so buried that it is no longer the direct trigger.

There is far more to self-injury then that. The repetitive nature of self injury is a minor component. Self-injurers, self-harm for several reasons: mood modulation, control, suicide prevention, affective creation, and/or a response to self-loathing. Often, similar to OCD, if the behavior continues, a Pavlovian reaction will occur; the trigger may be unconscious or unknown, but the behavior will occur, anyway. Cessation of the behavior, reproduces the triggering feelings, often with intensity, which can dislodge the triggers and generate understanding of them. +30% of my practice is made up of self-injurers, and I give workshops on the issue, so I can, certainly provide more information on it if you'd like.

I hear this. My only issue with it is that it still differs from GID in the sense that it is a created body alteration, whereas GID matches brain biology to body structure. I have a hard time understanding how someone can be born with brain/neuro biology that defines them as impaired. We know that gender biology is rooted in several core biological constructs. Impairment is not.

I would agree with this.

This is interesting. Are these changes noted before or after an impairment occurs?

I can agree with all of this. Our own self-perception can be very confusing and, often does not match how other see us, or with the reality of our bodies.

And, in no way, am I diminishing the disabling effect of BIID.

I agree. I have read some questionable research, and have read some that seems quite valid. I suppose that is par for the course, especially with new research.

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"Never fear. Him is here" - Captain Chaos (Dom DeLuise), Cannonball Run

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Felicity

They obviously do in some cases as indicated by those that go back to their birth sex with mutilated organs. Removal of organs is extreme--perhaps it's appropriate in some cases, but I certainly think it may be too available due to those things Lightdemon and I were discussing about comorbidity of illness. Once the operation is done, there is no going back to the healthy natural state. And that's true for BIID and GID.

Felicity

Is there a way to test the brain chemistry other than through autopsy. If so--THAT should be a criteria for SRT.

I read something that suggested BIID was very like Phantom Limb, but only in reverse. That would be the same sort of brain chemistry issue that you are citing as why GID should be surgically treated.

Orion

In the city I grew up I had a transfemale friend named Katrina. I didn't know her for very long, maybe 5-6 months (after that I moved). She lead a very difficult life, not because she had sex reassignment surgery, but because of society. People constantly wanted to label her as a freak or someone who was mentally ill. She would have been mentally ill had she not been permitted to change her sex, because she felt completely trapped.

People who are against this... a lot of them think that some people with an idea go out and get their sex changed all willy nilly. It's an incredibly expensive, mentally and physically demanding process that involves many screening processes. Doctors who know how to perform this special kind of surgery will not permit you to do it without proof that you have received substantial psychological assessment. You basically have to get the ok from many doctors, and they don't give it easily.

You may think it's sick because you don't get it, and you don't get it because you obviously are comfortable with the anatomy you were born with. That is the whole point of what it means to be transexual... you have a gender identity that is not compatible with your physical sex.

I think by judging these people, we are excluding members from our society that have very unique insight into human identity. They have experienced what it is like to be perceived as both genders by others, even though their psychological gender has remained consistent. They know what it is like to transition between the two. Most of the harsh judgment comes from ignorance. If you fall outside of the very narrowly defined male/female heterosexual status quo, then you are likely subject to misunderstanding. Homosexuals have received more political elevation, especially in recent years, but transexuals still remain a grey area (though admittedly their issue is not about who they are attracted to).

I also don't like how the psychiatric community discusses this particular issue, but I understand that their research is necessary to shed more light on this way of being.

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"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. Lawrence

jonnyalpha

Quoted for truth. We are really doing these people a disservice by not recognizing transgenderness as a mental illness. They need psychiatric treatment, not boobs.

1069

Riiiight.
And you, in conjunction with- haha- Jamesrage, would be in a better position to make that determination than the APA and the entire national and international medical and mental health community.

jonnyalpha

[QUOTE=Orius;1057783148]
That is the whole point of what it means to be transexual... you have a gender identity that is not compatible with your physical sex.
[QUOTE]

Their physical sex is reality, and for some reason the mind does not accept reality. This is obviously a mental illness, and they need treatment to help them accept reality. I'm not sure exactly when in medicine it became acceptable to alter reality in order to be in line with the delusion of a mentally ill patient, but it's wrong.