A gender dysphoria test is a set of psychological questions to determine whether you have gender dysphoria. The gender therapist will talk to you about your symptoms, how long they've been going on for if there are any related complications such as depression or anxiety, and other possible causes for these feelings.
Your health care provider might make a diagnosis of gender dysphoria based on: Behavioral health evaluation. Your provider will evaluate you to confirm the presence of gender dysphoria and document how prejudice and discrimination due to your gender identity (minority stress factors) impact your mental health.
See a GP if you think you or your child may have gender dysphoria. If the GP agrees, they can refer you to a gender dysphoria clinic (GDC) where you'll be assessed by a specialist team.
For gender dysphoria to be present, a patient must have had at least two DSM-5 criteria for at least six months, and it must cause significant distress to the patient. This generally includes any of the following: a significant difference between their own experienced gender and their secondary sexual characteristics.
Gender dysphoria history: Of the 55 TM patients included in our study, 41 (75%) reported feeling GD for the first time by age 7, and 53 (96%) reported first experiencing GD by age 13 (Table 2).
The diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Adults can occur at any age. For those who experience gender dysphoria later in life, they often report having secretly hidden their gender dysphoric feelings from others when they were younger.
Those with body dysmorphia have a distorted view of how they look, while those with gender dysphoria suffer no distortion. They have feelings of anxiety and depression, as they truly know who they are on the inside, despite this not fitting with their biological sex.
Criteria: Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Adults
A strong desire for the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of the other gender. A strong desire to be of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one's assigned gender)
Causes of gender dysphoria
Occasionally, the hormones that trigger the development of biological sex may not work properly on the brain, reproductive organs and genitals, causing differences between them. This may be caused by: additional hormones in the mother's system – possibly as a result of taking medication.
No one knows exactly what causes gender dysphoria. Some experts believe that hormones in the womb, genes, and cultural and environmental factors may be involved.
There is also growing evidence that childhood abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and physical or sexual abuse may be associated with GD. Individuals reporting higher body dissatisfaction and GD have a worse prognosis in terms of mental health.
It can manifest as distress, depression, anxiety, restlessness or unhappiness. It might feel like anger or sadness, or feeling slighted or negative about your body, or like there are parts of you missing.
Gender identity typically develops in stages: Around age two: Children become conscious of the physical differences between boys and girls. Before their third birthday: Most children can easily label themselves as either a boy or a girl. By age four: Most children have a stable sense of their gender identity.
While symptoms of gender dysphoria often appear in early childhood, it's not uncommon for them to first appear during adolescence or, in some cases, even adulthood.
Genuinely listen to your child and truly sympathize with what they're telling you. Be patient. The DSM-5 recognizes gender dysphoria as a medical condition (not a mental disorder as per outdated definitions). Your child's concerns are legitimate, backed by science, and extremely real.
Hormone therapy for adults
It's important to remember that hormone therapy is only one of the treatments for gender dysphoria. Others include voice therapy and psychological support. The decision to have hormone therapy will be taken after a discussion between you and your clinic team.
The “diagnosis” of gender dysphoria has become a requirement for receiving medically necessary gender-affirming care for patients, even though the diagnosis doesn't apply to all trans people.
Various types of dysphoria include rejection sensitive dysphoria, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and gender dysphoria.
There are three subcategories of gender dysphoria including: Body dysphoria. Social dysphoria. Mind dysphoria.
A diagnosis for gender dysphoria is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association.
Studies suggest that gender dysphoria may have biological causes associated with the development of gender identity before birth. More research is needed before the causes of gender dysphoria can be fully understood.
Additionally, while some transgender adolescents have shown gender non-conformity since early childhood, other adolescents might experience gender dysphoria during or after the onset of pubertal physical changes. Some adolescents may have kept their gender incongruence to themselves for a long time.
Mismatch between biological sex and gender identity, culminating in its severest form as gender dysphoria, has been ascribed to mental disease, family dysfunction and childhood trauma. But accumulating evidence now implies biological factors in establishing gender identity, and a role for particular genes.
Left untreated, gender dysphoria can lead to severe emotional and psychological distress. Gender dysphoria can lead to other mental health challenges, including: Anxiety. Depression, sadness or a sense of loss.