Psychology 101

Thank you to Annette for posting M2F2M. The topic of changing back after transitioning is not one I have seen readily discussed in too many TG forums. While there must be some who have regrets after transition, it seems few speak openly about these feelings, let alone transition back. This is a sad story, and quite likely very rare.

I can't help but wonder if there isn't an undertone of psychological disorder in this individual? He was hospitalised on more than one occasion due to his state of mind. There may be cases where the person is "diagnosed" transsexual, when their gender focused behaviors are actually resulting from an underlying mental illness.

While my depth of knowledge in this area is limited to only a few psychology classes in university, I can cite a some examples where an underlying mental illness could lead to a gender-identity crisis.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) leads an individual to fixate on a specific detail, either about themselves or their environment. They may engage in repetitive or unusual behaviors in order to remedy the "problem". In some cases that fixation may be their gender, or a specific body part attribute such as their penis or body hair.

Depressive disorder leads an individual to excessive self-critism, hopelessness, feelings of inadequacy. Often people who are severely depressed wish they were someone else, or dead. A very depressed person may lead themself to believe that if only they could take on a whole new body, life would get better.

Mania is the other side of depression, and some people are "bi-polar" (both manic and depressive, in turn). When a person is manic, they may have delusions of grandeur, they may take excessive risks, engage in outlandish or sexually promiscuous behavior, often in the guise of an alter-ego character. Why not that of a woman?

Body Dismorphia is a condition where the individual perceives some part of their body to be inherantly defective, to the point of causing grave distress, where no actual deformity or flaw exists. People afflicted with this condition will often be anorexic or bullemic, engage in excessive surguries or grooming rituals, and go to extreme lengths to conceal or correct the flaw. To such a person, there may be one flaw, or multiple, and in some cases the perceived flaw shifts from one body part to the next depending on the individuals mood. The perception of the penis as a deformity may in some individuals stem from body dismorphia rather than gender disphoria.

These are just a few examples of mental illnesses that may account for people who rush into full SRS then later realize it was the wrong decision. In some people, treating the underlying mental illness may alleviate the gender discomfort. Unfortunately in other cases, an underlying mental illness may go undiagnosed, and the person finds themself just as unhappy in the female mode as they were in male. I suspect this is the case for poor Sam. Fortunately there are medications which help to treat or effectively cope with any of the above.

Individuals who are mentally and emotionally balanced while transitioning are much more likely to be make decisions they can live with for the long term. It should be clearly understood that changing one's sex will not automatically change one's life. Others who are on a wild roller-coaster ride, whose lives revolve around their gender issues, with turmoil and instability all around, and who feel the need to suddenly and urgently rush into full transition, are more likely to change their minds and regret their decisions later. It is this latter group that I would tend to look more carefully and question the underlying cause of their behavior. These are the people I would urge to consider alternative treatment options. If there is an underlying mental illness such as those described above, hormones will actually worsten the condition.

There is no magic pill... all that hormones or surgury can do is provide a different (hopefully improved) vehicle in which to drive forth. It's up to the driver whether to put the stilleto to the metal, or sit in idle waiting for miracles. People who have this in perspective are more likely to enjoy a successful transition.

Thanks again to Annette for sharing this unique perspective. It definitely merits pondering by anyone who is considering permanently changing their gender.

Originally posted in response to: http://genderevolve.blogspot.com/2005/12/m2f2m.html