Why so many transgender girls are struggling with mental issues these days?

[nysprod]

This would be the same in gender girls also.
Good luck with the surgery!

I second that...all the best on your journey.

[runningdownthatdream]

I personally find Jamie's remarks rather harsh and dismissive of the obvious distress and emotional unhappiness felt by some girls. I know many - both those who escort and others. Some can, like Jamie roll with the punches and come back fighting. But some are very fragile emotionally - some because of family rejection, others because of other traumas around their gender issues. I'm very glad for Jamie that she is tough and not troubled by many of the things that knock some other girls sideways. But simply telling the emotionally fragile to get their act together and stop being wimps - essentially her message - is too simplistic. And perhaps as she is strong, some better advice to those who aren't would be more helpful?

Jamie's message could be interpreted as simplistic in the same way the over-the-top neediness so in fashion today could be simply interpreted as weakness. (Not every damn obstacle in life needs to be minutely analysed, consulted on with some specialized 'professional', or requires a 'support' group.) There are no fast and easy answers to deal with personal or mental health issues - some people respond to a kick in the ass and some to nurturing. At least Jamie is consistent with her message.

[jimbo00us]

Well, Miranda, It's obvious from trhe way you write that you have one thing going for you....you are really smart.

[BellaBellucci]

I would say that being trans is a slow burning trauma which often has severe deleterious effects on one's social-emotional functioning. Furthermore, I would say that being an MtF transsexual imposes certain psychological and particularly social demands which being an FtM does not. For example, bathroom scare screeds are always built around the notion of a perverted guy claiming to be a girl so that he can go into the women's restroom to molest the womenfolk and little girls: you never hear scare stories about perverted women sneaking into the men's room. Because of culture's gender norms, a "man masquerading as a woman" is perceived as threatening in a way that a "woman masquerading as a man" does not. Likewise, in fiction, the former is always treated as comic and absurd, the latter as a mark of cleverness. Couple with this with the insecurities and second class citizen status all women face, and being an MtF is probably the harder row to hoe, even if FtMs don't have an easy path either.

All that aside, being trans is traumatic. Furthermore, it is a lifelong trauma, which changes over time in form and intensity, but never fully goes away. The extent to which someone is able to manage that trauma depends a lot on external factors, i.e. family/social support, financial stability, supportive (or not) educational environment, supportive (or not) work environment, stable housing, unrelated mental health problems, disabilities, etc. If you have a bad mix of external factors, it becomes much harder to bear the trauma of being trans without there being lasting negative side effects on your psyche.

In my own case -- and I most certainly qualify as one of the drama queens you mentioned -- I had a very bad mix of external factors and I couldn't bear up under the weight of it all. That isn't to suggest that no one else has problems, just that when I consider my history from as objective a standpoint as I can muster, it is little wonder I'm as fucked as I am. My family history is extremely fucked up, featuring long-term abuse and poverty, parents with mental health problems and a brother with severe physical disability absorbing all of the energy and effort of the family. I experienced pretty severe bullying in my school years, eventually leading to a behavior pattern of social isolation and inability to form friendships/relationships which persists to this day. I inherited a bipolar spectrum mood disorder from my great grandfather, and as a consequence I was in and out of school as a kid, unable to maintain a stable mood state for any extended period of time. That pattern of cycling between marginal functionality and complete dysfunctionality has persisted into my adult years. My initial attempts at transition were very unsuccessful and led to near complete social rejection and long term unemployment. I could go on, and while I don't mean to suggest that I'm the only one with problems, I do want to emphasize that the sum total of the challenges I have faced has been quite large, and the fact that I am such damaged goods is directly related to that.

... aaaand .

~BB~

[Tina Francis]

...I think that everyone who posts here is nut's...so there...

[BellaBellucci]

~BB~

[TatianaSummer]

names tatiana

1) Nikka
2) Tatiana
3) Nikka
4) Tatiana



que bellas las dos!

[mildcigar_2001]

I found this a very interesting, thought provoking thread with a minimum of name calling and the word "horseshit" was only used 3 or 4 times.

I wonder if today's Jersey Shore/Jerry Springer culture has not exacerbated the poor mental health within the trans community. GGs and TGs watch the above mentioned shows and think it is okay/normal to flip out at the least provocation. Society is also at fault in demanding that people behave with proper decorum (at least in public).

One would think that if one were walking a tightrope anyway that one would have the common sense to dial it down a little bit (or dial it down a lot in the case of Ms. French).
Chronic overreaction to stimuli always seems to inflame the situation.

[Brassai]

Lots of valid, intelligent, heartfelt arguments and comments here. But a question hit me the other day. Is there any valid data out there? Lots of anecdotal, personal evidence cited here but only glittering generalities regarding the overall population. For instance something tragic but easy to measure, has anyone studied the incidence of suicide in the trans population? What frequency? Greater among M2F or F2M? At what point in transition? Anybody ever study a reasonably large sample of M2F subjects from start of transition to say 5 yrs later and administer MMPI's or extended interviews at selected intervals? Don't know how much that info would help in relieving suffering but it would be a start at least in trying to understand behaviors.

[STARTUP999]

Well, Miranda, It's obvious from trhe way you write that you have one thing going for you....you are really smart.

No kidding.

Miranda I appreciate your insights as well as other who have differing opinons.
I hope you can find some solice in opening up so publicly. It may even be helpful to some girl struggling with her own issues.

Even though I am here for the porn, its nice to see the forum rise above it now and then.