What do I do if I Think I have Gender Identity Disorder?

Written by: Tim Pheil

This is the question this sanctuary gets all the time.

The answer is simple. Therapy, Therapy and Therapy. No physician is going to touch you with out a diagnosis from a psychiatrist or psychologist. Some require diagnosis from 2 of them. Sometimes it isn’t true GID, but you can still undergo transgender surgery if it is deemed psychologically advantageous  to your treatment. Those who treat GID require you to be in therapy a certain length of time before they’ll even begin with hormone therapy. Most require you to live as your intended gender for at least a year before they will do sex reassignment surgery.

The best way to mess up your treatment is to take it on yourself. Over the years I’ve heard it all,  from black market hormones, injecting your breast with industrial silicone (for bathrooms) to self castration. If you indulge in any of these behaviors you will just be deemed psychiatrically unfit and would have to undergo even more therapy until your deemed fit for physical treatment.

Yes I understand the need you may feel to make things correct. You’ve lived your life as one gender. You can live a few years more as that same gender so that you can the correct treatment you need.