Spectator: is transgender ideology making mental health crisis worse?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

I think quite a few of us had picked up on the potential ramifications of demedicalising transgenderism?

There is a mental health crisis in the UK. The symptoms are often body related, and the causes are complex, but a new orthodoxy now labels some of these people as transgender. This means that instead of getting psychological care, increasing numbers are encouraged to take potentially dangerous hormones on their way to transitioning gender. The World Health Organisation’s recent ruling that it will no longer classify being transgender as a mental illness is hailed by some as a progressive step forward. But could this shift in thinking actually compound matters and mean that transgender patients’ other medical issues are ignored?

The cocktail of hormones given to those who transition can make matters worse for those suffering from mental illness. Leuprorelin, which is used to reduce testosterone, can make those who take it feel ‘depressed’, according to Macmillan (the drug is also taken to treat cancer); yet this possible symptom appears to be a curious omission from this NHS guide to hormone therapy for trans people. This guidance also doesn’t mention that Cyproterone, a feminising hormone, can cause depression. Testosterone, which is used for female to male transition, is also linked to depression; while long term studies on athletic steroids, similar to some transition hormones, show ‘prolonged psychiatric effects’ and ‘toxicity’.

Yet despite doctors warning of a lack of research in this area, thousands of young people around the world receive doses of these hormones, not for months but in some cases for years. Make no mistake: these people have become guinea pigs in an experiment in which those who are sceptical are hounded into silence.

blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/06/is-transgender-ideology-making-the-uks-mental-health-crisis-worse/

Huge issue. Possibly it's a contributing factor in why some studies have found that the risk of suicide does not improve after transition.

Unfortunately, transactivists refuse to allow this to be researched which is very strange. Maybe it's because this way they can blame any mental health issues transitioning people have on feminist women, rather than looking at the real cause.

Oh, good article. Sensible "first, do no harm" common sense.

And I noted the dig in there - savvy marketing of transgender charities. I'm glad to see some worrisome practices are being noted by commentators at long last.

Very interesting and useful article. Thank for sharing.

That's a brilliant article- thank you for sharing

It also seems that for some it's become an answer to other mental health issues. There can be many causes of feeling unhappy with yourself and uncomfortable in your own skin.

It's worrying that trans is a catch all label to some complex issues especially where children and young people are concerned.

YY, all the survey's etc point out the horrific rates of mental health issues in transgender people, but this always seems to be believed to be due to discrimination against trans people. For some reasons trans orgs never seem to suggest that these issues could be caused by, or indeed be the cause of, people believing they are transgender.

I think it is doing trans people a massive disservice to not even attempt to address the unusually high rate of mental health issues in their population.

I think it is doing trans people a massive disservice to not even attempt to address the unusually high rate of mental health issues in their population.

Thrown under the bus like women and children by those making money and a career out of this.

I agree more needs to be done to study the affect of these drugs on transgender people and to offer more mental health support. However the transgender population isn’t large enough to have a big impact on the general mental health crisis in the uk. The impact of changing legislation will have a huge impact on women/girls but let us not forget the group this is for the benefit of is actually pretty small.

I think politicians and councils haven't been sufficiently critical when it comes to trans propaganda and haven't considered who is pushing the agenda and what their motives are.
There is no way Mermaids will ever admit that kids who say they are trans might be misguided and influenced by sexual stereotypes or sexual abuse because Some in the organisation have to believe in the born in the wrong body creed to justify their behaviour.
Similarly people who have publicly and often irreversibly gone down the trans route need to persuade others you can change genders and it's a good thing to justify and normalise their choices.
Very few non trans people are pushing this. It's sad so many LGBT orgs and Stonewall have not been more pro gay rights and queried trans ideology which is very different.

The Truth inquiry into child sexual abuse, found an alarmingly high number of abusers were found outside the home, to be male, professionals and in positions of power and trust within the community.

Why indeed have professionals, people in positions of power and trust who are trained in safeguarding, allowed this to happen.

The trouble is you don't want to go down the all men are abusers road and stop men being teachers, scout leaders, cycling club coaches etc.

Quite possibly yes, especially when young people are concerned. Thanks to the Internet and social media there are a lot more stresses and pressures on young people than there used to be and social media in particular must make it more difficult to get away from things and get a ‘mental break ‘ so to speak. So life is confusing enough for the young and trans ideology comes along and casts doubt on objective truth by saying how a person feels can trump reality in the physical world and that questioning another persons beliefs about themselves could make one guilty of a form of violence. A guy I sit next to at work told me in his daughters class at secondary school 7 of the children claim to be transgender and his daughter has suffered a psychotic episode. He certainly seems to think the two are linked.

“I think politicians and councils haven't been sufficiently critical when it comes to trans propaganda and haven't considered who is pushing the agenda and what their motives are” - I believe I know the reason for this. I went to see my MSP (he’s SNP) about something completely unrelated to trans issues and his assistant chatted with me for about half an hour. A pleasant lady but she kept turning the conversation back to trans rights at every opportunity and wasn’t really interested in what I actually came to see my MSP about. Anyway she told me that it was exactly the same as gay rights 20 years ago and those opposed to it would be seen exactly as homophobes are seen now. I think most MSPs and councillors are well meaning people with average intelligence at best. They are decent and don’t want to discriminate against people and are scared of being seen that way and are terrified at the thought of ending up on the wrongside of history. They are being constantly lobbied hard by people who are more intelligent and able than they are (which admittedly is not hard) pushing trans rights and framing the debate.

I think politicians and councils haven't been sufficiently critical when it comes to trans propaganda and haven't considered who is pushing the agenda and what their motives are.

They rely on experts to inform them, and they want the issues explained in simple soundbites. They aren't doing enough to background check who they are taking advice from.

Did you read that article in The Atlantic by Jesse Siegel last week where one American pediatrician was arguing kids shouldn't even need therapy sessions before being dosed up on hormones because "she wouldn't send someone to therapy before starting them on insulin."

The idea that a doctor is in any way comparing diabetes and dysmoprhia is horrifying.

I've also been wondering a lot recently why anorexics aren't encouraged to stop eating and keep weighing themselves when they seem to be having exactly the same issue as those with dysmorophia - ie not feeling happy with their body and wanting to change it.

A 16 year old with anorexia will be force fed to put on weight while one with dysmoprhia will happily be booked in for hormones and a mastectomy. Why the double standard then?

Bamc you were also dealing the SNP. They are the Borg. They allow no dissent within their ranks and always vote en masse. They only represent their party not their constituents. And their party has to pander to the greens to stay in power.

Complete lack of critical thinking. In addition to the impact of the drugs, there's a push by TG organisations to remove children from safeguarding procedures by insisting that adults can keep confidences when children disclose transgender wishes (countering every single safeguarding policy in every single school and 'Working Together').
Once you add in the impact of the Memorandum of Good Practice which effectively bars therapists exploring issues behind a child's confusion about their sex, allowing only affirmation, you have a group of children with evident mental health issues being deliberately isolated from all conventional sources of support.

Now why would ANYONE do this, ever?

Excellent article. I'll enjoy talking to Simon when we are both sojourning at the Gulag.

“Now why would ANYONE do this, ever?”

I don’t know, I feel that we have departed from the normal political debates and alignments of the past and that the country is currently very far away from any sensible balance. And all this has happened despite having a (mostly) conservative government for the last eight years. If we had labour we would of only be further down the same road. Did you see today’s article in the guardian about the government allowing women’s only spaces to remain as they are? It was hysterical and they seemed to be blind to the other side’s point of view. I Watched a YouTube video about the ideological collapse of the left m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd2FTtu0sVE&t=3225s and the author seems to think all this will collapse soon and that we will return to old fashioned liberal values. I’m not sure he is right though at the moment it feels like everything we believed is being undermined and I’m deeply worried about my son starting school.