Gender dysphoria - NHS Choices

Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender ... Skiptomaincontent Genderdysphoria  Share: Save: Print: Overview Gender-dysphoriaRealstories Genderdysphoria Gender-dysphoriaSymptoms Gender-dysphoriaTreatment Gender-dysphoriaGuidelines   Genderdysphoriaisaconditionwhereapersonexperiencesdiscomfortordistressbecausethere'samismatchbetweentheirbiologicalsexandgenderidentity. It'ssometimesknownasgenderidentitydisorder(GID),genderincongruenceortransgenderism. Biological sexisassignedatbirth,dependingontheappearanceofthegenitals.Genderidentityisthegenderthataperson"identifies"withorfeelsthemselvestobe. Whilebiologicalsexandgenderidentityarethesameformostpeople,thisisn'tthecaseforeveryone.Forexample,somepeoplemayhavetheanatomyofaman,butidentifythemselvesasawoman,whileothersmaynot feelthey're definitivelyeithermaleorfemale. Thismismatchbetweensexandgenderidentitycanleadtodistressinganduncomfortablefeelingsthatarecalledgenderdysphoria.Genderdysphoriaisarecognisedmedicalcondition,forwhichtreatmentissometimesappropriate.It'snotamentalillness. Somepeoplewithgenderdysphoriahaveastrongandpersistentdesiretoliveaccordingtotheirgenderidentity,ratherthantheirbiologicalsex.Thesepeoplearesometimescalledtranssexualortranspeople.Sometranspeoplehavetreatmenttomaketheirphysicalappearancemoreconsistentwiththeirgenderidentity. Signsofgenderdysphoria Thefirst signsofgenderdysphoriacanappearataveryyoungage.Forexample,achildmayrefusetoweartypicalboys'orgirls'clothes,ordisliketakingpartintypicalboys'orgirls'gamesandactivities. Inmostcases,thistypeofbehaviourisjustpartofgrowingupandwillpassintime,butforthosewithgenderdysphoriaitcontinuesthroughchildhoodandintoadulthood. Adultswithgenderdysphoriacanfeeltrappedinsideabodythatdoesn'tmatchtheirgenderidentity. Theymayfeelsounhappyaboutconformingtosocietalexpectationsthattheyliveaccordingtotheiranatomicalsex,ratherthanthegendertheyfeelthemselvestobe. Theymay alsohaveastrongdesiretochangeorgetridofphysicalsignsoftheir biologicalsex,suchasfacialhairorbreasts. Readmoreaboutthe symptomsofgenderdysphoria. Gettinghelp SeeyourGPifyouthinkyouoryourchildmayhavegenderdysphoria. Ifnecessary,theycanreferyoutoaspecialistGenderIdentityClinic(GIC).Staffattheseclinicscancarryouta personalisedassessmentandprovideanysupportyouneed. Assessment A diagnosisofgenderdysphoriacanusuallybemadeafteranin-depthassessmentcarriedoutbytwoormorespecialists. Thismayrequire severalsessions,carriedoutafewmonthsapart,andmayinvolvediscussionswithpeopleyouarecloseto,suchasmembersofyourfamilyoryourpartner. Theassessmentwilldeterminewhetheryouhavegenderdysphoriaandwhatyourneedsare,whichcouldinclude: whetherthere'saclearmismatchbetweenyourbiologicalsexandgenderidentity whetheryouhaveastrongdesiretochangeyourphysicalcharacteristicsasaresultofanymismatch howyou'recopingwithanydifficultiesofapossiblemismatch howyourfeelingsandbehaviourshavedevelopedovertime whatsupportyouhave,suchasfriendsandfamily Theassessmentmayalsoinvolveamoregeneralassessmentofyourphysicalandpsychologicalhealth. Treatmentforgenderdysphoria Iftheresultsof anassessmentsuggestthatyouoryourchild havegenderdysphoria,staffattheGICwillworkwithyoutocomeupwithanindividualtreatmentplan.Thiswillincludeanypsychologicalsupportyoumayneed. Treatmentforgenderdysphoriaaimstohelpreduceorremovethedistressingfeelingsofamismatchbetweenbiologicalsexandgenderidentity. Thiscanmeandifferentthingsfordifferentpeople.Forsomepeople,itcanmeandressingandlivingastheirpreferredgender. Forothers,itcanmeantakinghormonesoralsohavingsurgerytochangetheirphysicalappearance. Manytranspeoplehavetreatmenttochangetheirbodypermanently,sothey'remoreconsistentwiththeirgenderidentity,andthevastmajorityaresatisfiedwiththeeventualresults. Readmoreabout treatinggenderdysphoria. What causesgenderdysphoria? Genderdevelopmentiscomplexandtherearemanypossiblevariationsthatcauseamismatchbetweenaperson’sbiologicalsexandtheirgenderidentity,makingtheexactcauseofgenderdysphoriaunclear. Occasionally,thehormonesthattriggerthedevelopmentofbiologicalsexmaynotworkproperlyonthebrain,reproductiveorgansandgenitals,causingdifferencesbetweenthem.Thismaybecausedby: additionalhormonesinthemother’ssystem–possiblyasaresultoftakingmedication thefoetus’insensitivitytothe hormones,knownasandrogeninsensitivitysyndrome(AIS)–whenthishappens,genderdysphoriamaybecausedbyhormonesnotworkingproperlyinthewomb Genderdysphoria may alsobethe resultofotherrareconditions,suchas: congenitaladrenalhyperplasia(CAH)–whereahighlevelofmalehormonesareproducedinafemalefoetus. Thiscausesthegenitalstobecomemoremaleinappearanceand,insomecases,thebabymaybe thoughttobebiologicallymalewhensheisborn. intersexconditions–which causebabiestobebornwiththegenitaliaofbothsexes(orambiguousgenitalia).Parentsarerecommendedtowaituntilthechildcanchoosetheirowngenderidentitybeforeanysurgeryiscarriedout. Readmoreaboutdisordersofsexdevelopment. Howcommonisgenderdysphoria? It'snotknownexactlyhowmanypeopleexperiencegenderdysphoria,becausemanypeoplewiththeconditionneverseekhelp. Asurveyof10,000peopleundertakenin2012bytheEqualityandHumanRightsCommissionfoundthat1%ofthepopulationsurveyedwasgendervariant,tosomeextent. Whilegenderdysphoriaappearstoberare,thenumberofpeoplebeingdiagnosedwiththeconditionisincreasing,duetogrowingpublicawareness. However,manypeoplewithgenderdysphoriastillfaceprejudiceandmisunderstanding. Genderterminology Genderdysphoriaisacomplexconditionthatcanbedifficulttounderstand.Therefore,ithelpstodistinguishbetweenthemeaningsofdifferentgender-relatedterms: genderdysphoria – discomfortordistresscausedbya mismatchbetweenaperson’sgenderidentityandtheirbiologicalsexassignedatbirth transsexualism–thedesiretoliveandbeacceptedasamemberoftheoppositesex,usuallyaccompaniedbythewish tohavetreatmenttomaketheirphysicalappearancemoreconsistentwiththeirgenderidentity transvestism–whereapersonoccasionallywearsclothestypicallyassociatedwiththeoppositegender(cross-dressing)foravarietyofreasons genderqueer–anumbrellatermused todescribegenderidentitiesotherthanmanandwoman–forexample,thosewhoarebothmanandwoman,orneithermannorwoman,ormovingbetweengenders Genderdysphoriaisn'tthesameastransvestismorcross-dressingandisn'trelatedtosexualorientation.Peoplewiththeconditionmayidentifyasstraight,gay,lesbian,bisexualorasexual,andthismaychangewithtreatment. Pagelastreviewed:12/04/2016 Nextreviewdue:01/04/2019 Share: Save: Print: Ratings Howhelpfulisthispage? Averagerating Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful Basedon 611ratings Allratings Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful 320  ratings Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful 117  ratings Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful 26  ratings Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful 19  ratings Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful 129  ratings Addyourrating Unhelpful Notveryhelpful Fairlyhelpful Helpful Veryhelpful Transgender:Ruth'sstory Ruthwasborninamalebodybutfeltthatshewasfemale.ShefirstsoughtadvicefromherGPwhenshewas17.Learnaboutherhormonetreatmentandsurgery,andhowshefeelsnow. Medialastreviewed:20/05/2018 Nextreviewdue:20/07/2021 UsefullinksNHSChoiceslinksTransgenderhealthAndrogeninsensitivitysyndromeDisordersofsexdevelopmentExternallinksEqualityandHumanRightsCommissionGenderRecognitionAct2004GOV.UK:discriminationGenderIdentityClinic(GIC):foradultsGenderidentitydevelopmentservice(GIDS):foryoungpeopleTheBeaumontSociety Transgenderhealth:Dawn'sstoryDawnmainlylivesasamanbutsometimeslivesanddressesasawoman TransgenderhealthFindoutmoreaboutgenderidentityissuesandreadrealstoriesaboutlivingasatransperson