The mental wellbeing of transgender people – just like everyone else – varies. Some people are doing well while others aren’t, and this can change throughout life. However, it’s more common for trans people to suffer ill health. This can be due to a variety of reasons, such as lack of respect from other people or the experience of gender dysphoria. Thinking about your gender identity can also be overwhelming.
Gender identity indicates which gender you identify with. This can be communicated by means of various gender expressions, such as clothing, body language, hairstyle or make-up. Only you can know and decide your gender identity.
Trans is an umbrella term that brings together two different ways of being transgender:
Perhaps you were assigned female gender when you were born but feel like a boy/man, or you were assigned male gender but feel like a girl/woman. Or you’re non-binary and feel like neither a girl/woman nor a boy/man, but both, genderless (agender) or something in between. Another way of being trans is feeling comfortable dressing in a way that’s not traditionally associated with your gender. Although it’s an important part of your identity, you feel like the gender you were assigned at birth. This is often referred to as being a crossdresser (rather than the outdated and possibly offensive term transvestite).
Trans doesn’t say anything about your sexual orientation. Who you want to have sex with or fall in love with isn’t dependent on the gender you identify with. A transgender person, just like anyone else, can be gay, straight, bi or anything else that describes their sexual orientation.
It’s common for trans people to experience gender dysphoria. This is the distress caused by the fact that your gender identity doesn’t match the gender that others see you as. Gender dysphoria can be physical, in that you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror and may have trouble accepting parts of your body. You may also feel uncomfortable when you hear your own voice. Gender dysphoria can also be social, when others don’t see you as you are and don’t use the pronoun you want to be addressed by. It can also be distressing when your name doesn’t match your gender identity. Conversely, gender euphoria is what you experience when your gender identity is affirmed and you feel good about it.
How gender dysphoria feels varies from person to person. You may feel it all the time, or you may feel it only some of the time. Gender dysphoria can affect your everyday life and cause you to avoid certain situations. You may, for example, find it difficult to be naked in front of other people. So, you might avoid taking part in sports at school or showering with others.
Feeling different can be difficult, and you may experience feelings of shame, exclusion and insecurity. As a trans person, you’re also more likely than the average person to have experienced violence or abuse, which can affect how you feel.
A supportive social network can mean a great deal, especially when you’re in the process of figuring out your gender identity or coming out to those around you. The age at which this happens is individual. Some people know they’re trans already at a young age, others not until they’re older.
It can prove helpful and feel good to meet other trans people with similar experiences to yours. To find contexts where you can be yourself and part of a community. There are various associations and organizations that you can turn to.
You may also want to try different ways of expressing yourself, such as by trying different ways of dressing, different hairstyles and different make-up techniques.
Everyone has the right to be themselves and feel good about it. If you’re feeling down, low or depressed, contact your healthcare centre or a psychiatric clinic. They can also offer you further guidance if you need gender-affirming care.
If you need gender-affirming care or to change your legal gender, first you need to undergo a gender dysphoria assessment. It’s not your gender identity that’s being assessed, and being transgender isn’t a diagnosis. However, gender dysphoria is something that can be assessed and alleviated with treatment.
The assessment is conducted at so-called gender dysphoria clinics, which are staffed by people knowledgeable about gender dysphoria. The assessment aims to find out how your gender dysphoria manifests itself and whether gender-affirming care can be expected to alleviate your gender dysphoria. The length of the assessment varies as it’s individually tailored.
A referral is needed to attend a gender dysphoria clinic. Different clinics have different rules. Some accept self-referrals, while others want child and youth psychiatric care (BUP) or an adult psychiatric clinic to provide the referral. If you’re not sure about your gender identity, you can start by talking to a counsellor at a youth clinic or contacting a counselling centre for LGBTQI people.
Reviewed by: Edward Summanen, social worker and expert on trans issues.
Last edited 2024-02-16
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