Understanding yourself
Gender identity
“I’ve felt this way since I was small.”
Gender incongruence is not a mental disorder, WHO says. The distress, family conflict and isolation that often come with it deserve care.
Since childhood, Arin has felt that the person others see is not quite who Arin is. Now in the final year of a design degree, Arin finds the feeling impossible to ignore and impossible to say aloud at the family table. Arin sleeps badly, has stopped going to the studio, and searches online late at night for words that fit.
An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.
Understanding gender identity
Gender identity is a person’s deep sense of their own gender. For some people it differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. In 2019 WHO’s ICD-11 moved gender incongruence out of the chapter on mental disorders and into a chapter on sexual health, explaining that it is not a mental health condition and that classifying it as one could cause stigma.
What does often affect mental health is what surrounds it: secrecy, family conflict, rejection, bullying and isolation. These can contribute to anxiety, depression and self-harm.
Signs worth noticing
- A lasting sense that your gender is different from how others see you
- Distress, anxiety or low mood connected to it
- Withdrawing from family or friends, or fear of being found out
- Thoughts of self-harm
How care helps
Mental health care here is about the person’s wellbeing: assessing and treating anxiety, depression or other conditions, providing a confidential place to think things through without pressure in any direction, and, where wanted, helping families understand and talk. Each person’s situation and wishes are respected.
What getting better can look like
Arin might start with a night of proper sleep, and the knowledge that there is one room where nothing needs to be hidden.
Common questions about gender identity
Is being transgender a mental illness?
No. In 2019 WHO’s ICD-11 moved gender incongruence out of the chapter on mental disorders and into a chapter on sexual health, explaining that it is not a mental health condition and that classifying it as one could cause stigma. What often affects mental health is what surrounds it: secrecy, family conflict, rejection, bullying and isolation.
What does a psychiatrist do for someone questioning their gender identity?
The focus is the person’s wellbeing: assessing and treating anxiety, depression or other conditions, and offering a confidential place to think things through without pressure in any direction. Where the person wants it, care can also help families understand and talk. Each person’s situation and wishes are respected.
When to see a psychiatrist
If questions about gender identity are bringing distress, isolation or conflict, confidential help is available. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, please seek help today, or call 999 in an emergency.
Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.
If some of this sounds familiar, a first conversation is a good place to start. You do not need the right words, or to be certain.
Dr. Tajreen is consulting in Uttar Badda now, until 8:00 pm. Call +880 1847-331010Every address and its hours
Sources
- World Health Organization, ICD-11, gender incongruence and transgender health
You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin.
