jonnyalpha

Just because at this point in human history a group of psychiatrists make a determination, does not mean it is correct. Look at the history of science and psychiatry and see how many times things once taken to be true have been proven wrong. You'd probably be in the crowd of people burning a guy at the stake for spreading the blasphemy that the Earth is not the center of the universe.

Orion

Yes, they need treatment, and for many, the treatment is gender reassignment surgery. Other than that, there is no "treatment" that works. It's like trying to "treat" people for being homosexuals like they used to do pre-1970's. It doesn't work and it's who they are, structurally. For the sake of argument I'm going to presume you are a heterosexual male. Now, imagine being treated for being a "heterosexual" so that you perfectly conform to a "homosexual" reality. It cannot be done.

I would say it's only a "mental illness" once their inability to reconcile their situation begins to degrade their quality of life; however, knowing that their physical body is a different sex than their mental gender is not in of itself a mental illness. If you would kindly do an iota of preliminary research, you would see that there is no treatment to make them come into alignment with their physical sex.

Gender identity is hardwired in the brain. It is more than likely a structural process. In other words, it is natural. Not all transexuals want reassignment surgery, but those who do should have the option. Many who don't come to terms with their situation need a therapist to figure out their options; others don't believe they have a problem, but a therapeutic diagnosis can help them to alleviate the societal stigma.

It's ignorant to make a blanket statement calling every person with gender identity issues delusional. Please do some basic research. In my line of medicine I don't deal with this type of issue, but even I know basic information about it. It's not a matter of the mind not accepting reality; the disposition of the mind is reality, and their physical bodies do not conform to that reality.

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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

Lightdemon

At page 50, I was so hoping that we were past this nonsense.

I've cited maybe 4-5 studies about GID, GID identity, and SRT. I mean, we even had Sean, an actual person with BIID to elaborate about identity.

What is it that makes you reject the individuals choice in identity? I don't get it. Just because you have a penis, you automatically throw out all possibilities that may suggest otherwise? Really? Even with the surmounting evidence that says you're body doesn't define who you are?

The problem isn't that GIDs or BIIDs have a delusion, its that you aren't capable of accepting the reality that they have a concrete identity.

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Felicity

I think there is yet much to learn on the topics and it is evident that gender identity (and in all likelihood BIID, also) is indeed at least SOMETIMES a delusion that is the result of a diseased brain.

Lightdemon

I agree, there's no mistake about that. More research is definitely called for, as is always.

It may be that it is a delusion, a symptom of another disorder. But there are already measures that take that into account (DSM-V should have definitely improved in this area). The extensive counseling and the doctors' consent, and all of what everybody who knew a transsexual has said in this thread. The process is a tiresome one, and an exhaustive one.

These measures should give us a good picture of what reality is and what identity is for the transsexual, even though it may not always be correct 100% of the time. But the fact that there's been such a high degree of success with SRT points towards the idea that identity is not dictated by the body. When you put all of this together, it suggests that the high majority of the cases dealing with GID are cases concerning Identity, not delusions.

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ADK_Forever

Ok.

Now it's a diseased brain? What disease?

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transabled

Changes noted before amputation. So if someone needs an amputation 3" above the knee, the skin conductivity will be different when measured above and below the required amputation level.

I am very glad to hear that. BIID has certainly altered my quality of life to the point that I dread the rest of my life unless I get the paralysis I need.

And
This is an interesting topic for me - how many TS try to "revert" back. I haven't looked for research on this, and don't even know if there is, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the majority of people who regret surgery and transition are the ones who actually bypassed the "system". It is actually not that difficult to get hormones on the black market, and getting surgery in Asia is also not particularly tricky. Just a thought...

Yeah, but... The problem is that there is NO "treatment" other than surgery to help transsexuals. Psychotherapy and psychiatry is helpful for people who have GID to get to know themselves better and ensure as much as possible that SRS is indeed what they are after. But that's about the extent of it. Medication doesn't change the need. So, why alter the body rather than align the mind? Simply because there is no way to align the mind. And transsexuals are not delusional.

FWIW, that paragraph I just wrote would also apply to transabled individuals

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Sean
http://biid-info.org - A resource site about BIID, including most available research
http://transabled.org - a multi-author blog about the experience of living with BIID

marduc

I tried to back up a few pages and see where this discussion was before adding the following link to mull over, however; I am lost with this acronym laden discussion here.

Anyhow thought this is article may be germane for this thread:

BBC NEWS | Health | Male transsexual gene link found

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CaptainCourtesy

I brought up comorbidity of illness way back, early in the thread. This is an important point. I agree, and have said that a thorough evaluation must occur to be sure that GID is the accurate diagnosis. There are other issues that can present symptoms similar to GID. These issues will respond to more traditional psychotherapuetic interventions, so they most be teased out before a treatment as radical as SRT is performed.

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CaptainCourtesy

Before making such uninformed statements, try reading through the thread. Then, when you make your points, try coming from a position of knowledge, with some substantiation or facts. You have presented none of this, here.

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