There is an epidemic in this country. Poor mental health affects millions of Americans every single day. In many cases, the effects can be long lasting, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and even physically.
In this essay, I’d like to direct the attention to a specific group of people deeply involved in this epidemic – those with gender dysphoria.
To quote an essay I published last year:
“The transgender population in America is under attack. You are more likely to die as part of the transgender community than as an active duty military personnel. That’s not due to murder, but due to suicide. According to a recent study by UCLA, 40% of transgender individuals have attempted suicide. Depending on the situation, between 70-93.8% of transgender individuals have seriously thought about suicide. The transgender community is 600% more likely to develop mental disorders, 300% more likely to be prescribed antidepressants, and 600% more likely to be hospitalized for attempted suicide.”
Why is this the case? Some have postulated that this identity has existed historically, but because of social pressure, people were never open about it. However, this doesn’t make sense for two reasons. (1) If that were the case we would see increased suicide historically, but we don’t. (2) Far more Gen Z adults claim membership to the LGTBQ community than previous generations, even now when it is accepted and celebrated.
Might there be another variable that is causing the difference? In a study published by the National Library of Medicine the author wrote, “Deterioration in mental health is one of the side effects stemming from social media overuse.” It seems that the dramatic increase in technology, especially social media, by Gen Z, may be one of the causes of this mental health crisis. Since members of the transgender community are 6x more likely to develop mental health disorders, there could be a connection.
Clearly, this is a group that needs our attention. These statistics are staggering. No matter your political ideology, we should all agree that something needs to be done. Not only is the transgender community the most at risk group in America, it is also incredibly fast growing–especially among young people. A 2022 Gallup poll shows that since 2012 the percentage of U.S. adults that identify as part of the LGTBQ community has doubled. They draw a connection to the recent increases by stating, “This [increase] is occurring as more of Gen Z is reaching adulthood.”
Regardless of the contributing factors giving rise to gender dysphoria in youth, let’s talk about solutions. How can we protect this at-risk demographic?
What have we tried? Affirmation. There is one school of thought that the reason for increased suicide risk among the transgender community is due to bullying, lack of community understanding, feelings of rejection, and overall lack of acceptance. That is why gender affirmation is commonly thought to be a way to help this group. While these feelings may be damaging, studies are inconclusive that gender affirmation deflates the attempted suicide rates. In a study from UCLA on transgender suicide, they found a correlation between steps in the transitioning process and suicide thoughts and attempts. See below.
I will concede that this study relies on data from 2015. It is outdated. This being said, I think more research like this would be beneficial in helping the LGTBQ community be safer and happier.
I once heard an argument against gender affirmation that went like this: gender dysphoria affects mental health. We should treat it like other mental health disorders. Imagine someone who is physically healthy suffers from anorexia, we’ll call them Sadie. If Sadie approaches a doctor or a pier and tells them that she believes she is overweight and should forgo meals, what will the doctor or pier say? Obviously they would help Sadie receive treatment and remain healthy. Can you imagine if the doctor told Sadie something like, “I’m glad you’re recognizing this about yourself, we will give you treatment to help you relate physically to the way you identify yourself.” This would be unacceptable.
Do you see the metaphorical connection here? If we treated gender dysphoria like a mental health condition, then affirmation would not be the best approach for long term benefit. In fact, if we DID treat gender dysphoria like a mental health condition, then we would find solutions to dissipate feelings of incongruence with sex. We’d help individuals overcome the dangerous side effects that gender dysphoria brings.
Even if affirmation is having a slight effect on suicide rates, which it doesn’t appear to, this is not a long term or effective solution. I have felt the sorrows of transgender suicide personally. We must do better. The suicide rates in the LGBTQ community are incredibly high. That fact hasn’t changed over the last decade. What we are doing is not working. Gender affirmation care isn’t providing the results we hoped for. Let’s rethink solutions.
