Study: Transfolk More Likely to Suffer Anxiety & Depression

[Carolyn Marie]

This is not a surprising finding, in my view.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/16765/20130621/transgender-depression-anxiety-mental-health-care.htm

I found this particularly interesting:

"Yet, the researchers also discovered that support from other transgender people moderated the effects of anxiety and depression. And, in the very best cases, respondents found encouragement within their families and this also softened the blow of stigmatization."

I think that is why this site, and others like it, are so important.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest KimberlyF]

I think this also demonstrates to sites like this that to shoot for the most 'very best' cases there need to be an emphasis on trying to save family relationships whenever possible unlike the call of some who have made the claim (not specific to LP or its members) that the path to happiness must be to burn all past ties and start a new life.

[Drea]

I think this also demonstrates to sites like this that to shoot for the most 'very best' cases there need to be an emphasis on trying to save family relationships whenever possible unlike the call of some who have made the claim (not specific to LP or its members) that the path to happiness must be to burn all past ties and start a new life.

Or the mantra that it all is totally worth losing everyone.

Which I suppose...after someone has lost most everyone...they need to believe it is worth it cause one cannot afford for it not to be worth it....I bit like a post-op not being able to afford to have any regrets.

[Sally]

To me the title of the study just brought to mind a single thought, "Duh!"

Why would anyone think that we could be anything but depressed, for many of us from our earliest memories we have been invisible - the person that they saw and spoke to and even loved never really existed, hidden deep i the shadows we watched all of the people that we cared about interact and love someone else (hard for anyone who has never been two people to understand).

I have no desire to severe all ties with the past, I have keep some of the most wonderful and loving spirits with me, we will all have regrets in our lives, we have to because even to do absolutely nothing brings the regret of not having done something.

My regrets are almost all about people who I truly loved but never told which brings with it the list of the three things that we are never supposed to say in our therapists' offices - should have, would have, could have - couple the big three with the 'what might have been' thoughts and your depression and pattern fro unsuccessful relationships in the future are pretty well set.

We few other groups - religious, political, bigots, transphobic, homophobic and all as being our biggest enemies while in fact there lies within each of us so many voices of doubt, self loathing, insecurity, inadequacy, shame and guilt puts us as number one on the list of foes.

Is it worth it, a question that must be answered by each of us, for me the answer has to be yes if you consider human life to be precious because if I had not become Sally, I would have become a corpse by my own hand - I would rather have not lost so much but in retrospect so much of what I had was of no real meaning to me only to that man who never really was.

Love ya,Sa

lly

[Guest LauraJen]

To me the title of the study just brought to mind a single thought, "Duh!"

This sounds so obvious to us but I think we would be surprised how little non-trans people realise this. For example, I have been out to my dad for what will be eight years this November, and I have never really been convinced that he has realised that anxiety and depression are very real threats to us all and if the dysphoria is left untreated then these things can destroy you. I think he would have helped me an awful lot more if he accepted the statistics of people who are in their 20s who have not had at least one suicide attempt as being a minority, and that around 1 in 3 of us actually succeed at it. Either he never came across this, or he did and thought "It's ok, it will never happen to my kid, he can wait for years and years". He made me go through my entire education before I start, and now I have finally finished that - I am a lot more depressed now than I was seven years ago.

We understand this issue on a level that non-trans people will never reach, but studies like this will hopefully go some way to bridging the gap, as well as giving medical professionals a better idea of how to treat us.

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Yeah this isn't surprising to me at all, anxiety and depression were pretty much a constant state of being for me before I was able to start transitioning, for the longest time I really thought feeling like that was just normal for me and I'd never feel any better. Even though I didn't do much posting at the time, I can definitely say that this site and this forum always gave me hope that I wasn't completely lost.

So yeah I agree with Sally the tagline for this article should definitely be Duh.

Hugs,

sarah