I feel like it would be easier if being trans was a medical condition. After all it is, different function of the brain. If it was listed as that rather then next to psychosis and shizophrenia I wouldn't feel so insane and ashamed. And we would have always been guys and girls, just with a defect that made recognizing our true gender harder. We would be fighters instead of lunatics. How do you feel about that? Would you prefer a placement with other medical conditions? Let it be as it is? Not listed anywhere at all?
Being transgender isn't a mental disorder, nor has it been listed as one since 2013. Gender dysphoria is considered a mental disorder, and has its own diagnostic class unrelated to any other mental disorders, so it isn't to be at all associated with psychosis. It would be like associating stuttering (which is listed in the DSM as a mental disorder) with psychosis. The reason that transgenderism isn't listed as a mental disorder itself is because that would imply that being transgender is the problem - which it isn't. It would imply that being transgender is the part that should be treated, and either cured or the 'symptoms' of transgenderism repressed. But as we know, that's not possible to do and is incredibly harmful to do. Being transgender in and of itself has no negative effect on your wellbeing once stigma is removed. Studies show that transgender people who have transitioned to their desired extent and are treated fully as members of the gender they identify as have no difference in suicide risk or depressive symptoms to the cisgender members of that gender - so because those people are still transgender, but not experiencing any negative affects, it shows that it isn't "being transgender" that has been treated, so being transgender is not the problem, and therefore not an illness in any way, shape, or form. The reason that gender dysphoria IS listed as a mental disorder though is because it does have a negative effect on your life. Dysphoria causes many problems for those that experience it, and for many trans people they transition in order to ease their dysphoria. Once transitioned, many trans people report that their dysphoria diminishes - which correlates with the diminished rates of suicide and depressive symptoms. This is why they class gender dysphoria as a mental disorder and something that needs treating. It has a negative effect, and once treated (generally through transitioning socially and/or medically) the negative effects go away or are significantly reduced. As for why it's listed as a mental disorder rather than the blanket term "medical condition" - many mental disorders are listed that way because it is a dysfunction within the brain or between the body and the brain, or some part of the brain that is failing to work in the correct way. But "mental disorder" in and of itself doesn't have to mean something incredibly awful or that you're 'insane'. As said above, stuttering is a mental disorder in children. Insomnia is a mental disorder. Even premature ejaculation is considered a mental disorder in the latest version of the DSM. Mental disorder quite literally only means that there is some dysfunction specifically related to the brain, in the same way that a gastrointestinal disorder is a dysfunction within the gastrointestinal system, or a muscular disorder is a dysfunction related to the muscles in the body. Parkinson's disease is considered a mental disorder because there is a dysfunction in the areas of the brain that impact movement, causing difficulty with motor functions and the well-known shaking symptoms. When you look at it that way, it makes more sense (or at least it does in my mind, I do have a slightly alternative way of thinking so it may not apply to other people that strongly), and it might help you feel a little more at ease with the classification of gender dysphoria as a mental disorder. So on the whole, I think I'd prefer things to remain as they are. Being transgender doesn't need to be classed as anything because there's nothing wrong with it and it causes no negative effects to your life (beyond social stigma, but if that is used as an argument then that implies that anything that carries some form of stigma should be called a medical condition, such as being unattractive or being a sex worker or, the age-old classic, being gay). Gender dysphoria should be called a mental disorder in my opinion because it does have those negative affects which are majority emotionally and cognitively based, and if it wasn't considered a disorder then it wouldn't be considered as something to be treated - meaning transition would no longer be considered medically necessary, and most people would need to pay fully out of pocket for what would be considered cosmetic surgeries. However, if gender dysphoria is re-classified as a medical condition instead, I don't think it'd have much effect overall, so I wouldn't exactly be much bothered either way, so long as it remains somewhere in the medical field and continues to be something that requires medical treatment. I should mention, though, used to have a very firm opinion that no aspect of being transgender (including dysphoria) should be pathologised until I looked further into it and understood the reasons why. I was more content thinking of it as natural variation, in the same way that sexuality is - but they are very much not in the same class and definitely shouldn't be treated as the same thing. I feel pretty angry at younger-me for not realising that sooner and making a fool out of himself. But yes, as you can probably guess this is a pretty interesting topic to me, and one I'd be interested in seeing other opinions of as well, and the reasoning behind those opinions.
I don't think that anthracite is saying that being transgender should be a mental disorder. I believe he means that it shouldn't be classed as a mental disorder, and should be listed as a medical condition instead. I think the miscommunication is because being transgender isn't considered a mental illness anyway, at least in professional fields or in the DSM V. There are many everyday people who have no knowledge of the DSM or of transgender issues that think it is classed as a mental illness, though.
im not sure where you're getting your information from but transgender was delisted from the DSM in the last edition. like more than 5 years ago?
Yes System Glitch, this is what I mean. I suppose that I've had the wrong edition then. Still, gender dysphoria is a symptom, I wouldn't call it an illness itself. It's also unfair towards people with Parkinson. After all, a mental disorder is and will always be associated with truly disturbed individuals and should be reserved for them.
I disagree. We shouldn't change the definition of mental disorder because of stigma. We should work to erase that stigma towards mental illness instead. The amount of mental illnesses that are severe (and what you would probably class as "truly disturbed") are incredibly low. Most mental illnesses are mild, are harmless to others, and are just things that are to do with the brain or the mind, hence "mental" in the name, and the classification means nothing more than that. Just because something has stigma associated with it, doesn't change its definition, and doesn't mean it should stop being used.
I more or less agree with SystemGlitch. Gender dysphoria is a medical condition already, it's diagnosed and treated, 'transitioning' is just one way to help treat it. Afterall, there are some people who willingly choose to be transgender without having the proper diagnosis, it's partly why imo I don't like the term being so umbrella, as well as people not truly differentiating between the medical and the expressive aspects. Think it's led to a lot of public confusion too. I'd consider it a mental disorder as well, but a person could get philosophical, arguing that the brain is fine but it's the body that's the disorder, etc, so I just say medical condition. I think the system is good as is, in some ways though I feel it should be a bit more restrictive or controlled. I fear a lot of people will later in life come to regret some of the decisions they've made in their zeal and depression, especially if they did not understand what GID or being trans is at a deeper or more meaningful level.
