I’m an avid listener of the Smerconish Radio Program on Sirius XM radio. Michael stimulates thought with a variety of political and human-interest segments and recently had a psychiatrist on the show talking about the processes around diagnosis and treating patients suffering from Gender Dysphoria.
Contrary to the propaganda being advanced by many, Gender Dysphoria is a legitimate condition listed in the DSM-5, “The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.” The physician answered a few common questions, and the following answers were of particular interest to me as I follow the daily headlines that all too often put forth misinformation about the Trans Phenomenon.
When asked if children could “become trans” through peer pressure (grooming) his answer was a definite NO! Those of us who have the misfortune (or fortune) of being trans are aware that we are different from a very young age. I was aware as early as when I was five years old but had no idea what it was. Remember that in 1968 there was no internet or home computers.
When asked about the process of diagnosing the affliction, he stated that it’s generally made after a six-month period of continued distress manifesting as anxiety and depression resulting in the inability to function socially or in the workplace. I recall visiting the doctor at age five or six because I was having anxiety and depression associated with attending school even though I was always an A student. In those days the “D” word was not uttered because there were no treatments short of being admitted to an institution to prevent them from self-harm. My parents and I simply had to manage, and we were totally unaware that the underlying cause even existed.
The withholding of available treatments for trans children fifty-five years later is doubly cruel and inhumane given what we now know. Those who claim to be “protecting” children are simply protecting themselves from discomfort or worse, attempting to make “political hay” on a minority’s misfortune. In some areas of the United States if your child is depressed or anxious, treatment will not be provided if the symptoms are resulting from Gender Dysphoria.
The last question I found particularly interesting. The physician, having over thirty years’ experience in treating trans patients was asked if there was a large degree of regret expressed after medical/surgical intervention. He stated that there was regret but not for their decisions to proceed through transition, but from losing family, friends, and employment.
I experience regret often but not with who I have become. I regret what my loved ones go through regularly when people discriminate against me or mis-pronoun me. I have developed a thicker skin, but watching the effect it has on my supporters sometimes makes me wish that I had ceased to exist in 1997 before I came out and began to live as my authentic self. Witnessing these incidents will bring tears to my eyes when in private because, as a child of the sixties we learned we could never let the world see us cry.
I do not regret the procedures and I could never go back to being male and living in that role. I guess the moral of this post is that if you choose to disrespect me, please do it when I’m alone. I may deserve it but my loved ones and friends certainly DO NOT!
Have a great day and please be kind.