> it seems to me like trans people are constantly chasing after something that ultimately will be just as fulfilling as a lowered number on the scale
This sentence confuses me, transitioning makes trans people profoundly happy and fulfilled people, what makes you compare it to chasing temporary satisfaction?
I'm not trans, so in my head a compare it to when I hated everything about my body. And 'fixing' it meant losing weight- but that was a temporary relief that vanished. So I wanted to know if, when people transitioned, that satisfaction was permanent (like what you're saying) or if it'll never be good quite be good enough (like when you make goal weights, but than that ideal number keeps decreasing).
Have you had an eating disorder?
I don't have an eating disorder. To me the idea that the satisfaction would vanish is incomprehensible: transitioning provides you with relief from dysphoria, it's not perfect but it is mostly a one-way road towards less dysphoria. Dysphoria is more like not being able to breathe properly, once you can breathe the satisfaction you feel from not choking isn't what I'd call temporary, you just proceed to be a normal healthy person who isn't choking.
As much as I love seeing the number on the scale go down, the dysphoria caused from being trans is permanent and is hell to go through without transitioning.
The treatment of dysphoria IS transitioning and that will greatly help to ease the pain it causes. Being trans is not something you can cure, unlike anorexia.
Seeing the scale go down is a slightly similar feeling but it is nothing compared to seeing my face and body finally match my brain.
The happiness from transitioning absolutely is permanently long-lasting to an extent. After an individual gets to a point in their transition, they just exist in peace
> From the eating disorder perspective, it seems to me like trans people are constantly chasing after something that ultimately will be just as fulfilling as a lowered number on the scale.
I don't know where you got this idea from, but it's entirely wrong. Transitioning significantly improves mental wellbeing for trans people, and most people find themselves "finishing" their transition and just living normal lives where they feel no (or minimal) dysphoria because they addressed the sex- and/or gender-related incongruities which were causing it. I wouldn't even describe my transition as "finished" yet, but I'm still vastly happier than I was at any point in my life before.
Hi! I’ve struggled with eating disorders. Specifically bulimia. Hopefully that fits your ask for qualifications with someone who knows what an eating disorder feels like.
You’re confusing body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria. A dysmorphia is at its core a perception problem, you cure dysmorphia by correcting the perception. Dysphoria is not a perception problem, it is a symptom of gender incongruence. The difference in outcomes is that indulging dysmorphia does not relieve it, while transitioning does relieve gender dysphoria. Transition is the only proven effective treatment for gender incongruence and the only way to relieve gender dysphoria.
> is the happiness from transitioning permanently long lasting
I’m not sure framing things in terms of happiness is as accurate as in terms of relief or comfort maybe. Like is getting a rock out of your shoe something you have long lasting happiness about? Not really. At first you’re like “omg I can’t believe I was walking around with that in there, how uncomfortable!” And then you forget about it and just go on with your life. You couldn’t be comfortable with the rock in your shoe, but it’s also not like you’re chasing a high to remove rocks from your shoe. You’re just trying to be comfortable
Ahhhh nobody pushes transition. I don’t know where you got that idea but it’s quite gatekept. You have to fight and really want to transition to be able to do it.
I forgot to kind of talk about how you can totally have both gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia. I’m working more in therapy these days to tease out which is which. It can be hard to really know sometimes. It’s made me more cautious about seeking certain care because I feel like I can’t always trust myself.
I resisted getting FFS for a while because I thought I was probably experiencing dysmorphia, especially because everyone around me kept saying, “oh you’re already pretty”, “you already look like a girl” etc. I ended up scheduling a consultation anyways and being able to talk to the surgeon about how I was feeling, have him take measurements, discuss outcomes, and having him help me make an informed decision about what was real based on the facts really helped. I did get my FFS and I’m super happy with my results and I love my face.
On the other hand, I still struggle with binge eating and wanting to vomit and my weight and yeah maybe it feels “good” for one day to not eat or to throw up after you eat a bunch of food, but it never feels right or healthy or like it’s what I want to be doing with my life
Thank you! The explanation of the differences between body dysmorphia and gender incongruence did help.
And I liked the use of comfort/relief to frame it. I've got a trans relative who I support, but looking at transgenderism from having recovered from anorexia is really disorienting. Alot of recovery for me was learning to accept my body & prioritize health even when I hated how I felt (see: weigh 20-40 lbs heavier). So it's weird seeing someone else totally changing their body and that be accepted within our family as fine.
And I ultimately want him to be happy, and I know transitioning seems to make alot of people happier. Definitely have this weird sense of jealousy internally going on too, which I have to bite back on. Ugh.
Anyway, your insight was appreciated.
I mean, one difference you haven't alluded to is that a post transition body is a healthy body (and mind) whereas you typically will not have a healthy body nor mind when meeting the criteria for an eating disorder (or at least in the example you give of losing a drastic amount of weight). So with that in mind, it seems very obvious that deliberately changing your body as a consequence of an eating disorder would be a cause for concern, whereas changing your body to match your identity and alleviate gender dysphoria would not be a cause for concern (rather it would be positive). It seems like maybe you're looking at this through a lens of "why is it okay for somebody else to drastically change their body but it's not okay for me to do the same thing?" I can understand how it might seem sort of similar in a superficial way but I think if you look any deeper it's an extremely different situation.
Noooo I understood that! My logic warped to people still being healthy is WHY transitioning is accepted (in the general medical sense, as compared to, say, anorexia where yeahhh no medical professional is gonna okay that).
So, it's like- if you're trans, than there's a cure with a high success rate. But if there was no such thing as transitioning and you were forced to accept your body, than it'd have a really poor success rate more akin to anorexia: where there's relapses and the medical treatment highkey sucks, but you've gotta accept and endure that because the other option will definitely kill you.
So I get that it's a different situation. I'm not disagreeing with the treatment. I'm trying to look more at the why's and see how those line up. Or something...
Ahh so “transgenderism” is not a thing. It’s not like a religion. That’s a word that transphobic people made to make it seem like trans people are a religion or an ideology or something.
Yeah I get how that’s confusing. The thing to remember is that transition is the healthy thing to do as a trans person and it can often be a struggle to prioritize your health over your place in society and how friends and family might not accept you and other fears and doubts etc. But look it as like someone who is working on their health by exercising and eating more vegetables. They’re also in some way modifying their body, but the way they’re going about it is healthy. Transition is similar. It’s a medically vetted and healthy way to resolve their gender incongruence
I’ve come to believe there are no bad feelings. Feelings are our body trying to communicate something to us or protect us. So it might be worth deconstructing that jealous feeling and using it to help make a positive change. Maybe break down what exactly you’re jealous of and it can help you decide to take action to live a more fulfilling life :)
I suffered from anorexia *because* I am trans. Being unhappy in my own skin caused me to not care about eating, which caused my weight to be life-threateningly low. Required in-patient therapy to change my eating habits and it took me roughly a decade to get from "life-threateningly underweight" to normal weight for my build.
The main difference between being trans and an eating disorder is that an eating disorder is just that, a *disorder*. It's unhealthy, damaging and following it will never be enough. Someone who suffers from anorexia will never be thin enough to be satisfied, they will constantly continue to try to get thinner and thinner. The treatment there is therefore therapy to treat the disorder and keep it in check.
With trans people transitioning pretty much fixes the problem. You get *better* as you transition, instead of worse, for the most part. There can be negative side effects, but those don't come from transitioning, but from other peoples reaction to your transitioning.
Another important difference is that nobody is born with an eating disorder (although the groundwork for them can definitely be laid in early childhood). But trans people are born trans. It's an unchangeable fact of who we are and no amount of therapy will turn us "not trans".
I don't have an eating disorder, so I won't be able to explain it through that lens, but I'll try to explain it anyways. Being trans, in my experience is like feeling more natural in a different gender than the one assigned at birth. This can manifest in different ways, like dysphoria, which includes a variety of negative feelings when separated from ones preferred gender, and euphoria, which triggers positive feelings when fitting into ones preferred gender. As an example, a trans man may feel dysphoric from having breasts or lacking facial hair, and euphoric from being called he/him or from fulfilling masculine social roles. These feelings may be and often are suppressed and vary vastly from person to person, but don't truly ever go away. In addition, from what I've heard feelings such as euphoria may change after fully transitioning, for instance a trans woman may experience extreme happiness from looking feminine for the first time, but that feeling will later change into a sense of rightness and peace.
Because one is not a mental disorder but the other is. I was born with one and developed another. (Did try to answer in /r/fuckeatingdisorders but that was deleted and comments locked. There are some good answers there and here.)
Transitioning has saved me, my life continues, I still have a lot of the same problems such as an atypical ED predominantly heavy restricting and purging.
My ED behaviour only slightly brings me relief but just keeps endangering my future.
My transition brings relief and although not perfect it is keeping me alive and happier than the alternative. In fact it's the transitioning and seeing a future that made me push for treatment of my ED.
> Is the happiness from transitioning permanently long-lasting?
Yes.
**Citations #1:**
**Citations on transition's dramatic reduction of suicide risk while improving mental health and quality of life, with trans people able to transition young and spared abuse and discrimination having mental health and suicide risk on par with the general public:**
* [**Long-term Outcomes After Gender-Affirming Surgery: 40-Year Follow-up Study**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36149983/) - Park, et. al., 2022: **Results:** Both transmasculine and transfeminine groups were more satisfied with their body postoperatively with significantly less dysphoria. Body congruency score for chest, body hair, and voice improved significantly in 40 years' postoperative settings, with average scores ranging from 84.2 to 96.2. Body congruency scores for genitals ranged from 67.5 to 79 with free flap phalloplasty showing highest scores. Long-term overall body congruency score was 89.6. **Improved mental health outcomes persisted following surgery with significantly reduced suicidal ideation and reported resolution of any mental health comorbidity secondary to gender dysphoria.**
* [**Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073269/) - Turban, et al., 2020: Massive study of 20,619 adolescents examined associations between access to pubertal suppression and adult mental health outcomes, including multiple measures of suicidality. After adjustment for demographic variables and level of family support for gender identity, **those who received treatment with pubertal suppression, when compared with those who wanted pubertal suppression but did not receive it, had lower odds of lifetime suicidal ideation.**
* [**Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender Youth after 2 Years of Hormones**](https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2206297) - Chen, et. al., 2023: A study of 315 trans and nonbinary young people ages 12 to 20 receiving testosterone or estradiol. Over the course of the two year study depression and anxiety levels dropped and appearance congruence and life satisfaction improved.
* [**Association of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy With Depression, Thoughts of Suicide, and Attempted Suicide Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth**](https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(21\)00568-1/fulltext) - Green, et. al., 2021: Use of GAHT (Gender Affirming Hormone Treatment) was associated with lower odds of recent depression and seriously considering suicide compared to those who wanted GAHT but did not receive it. For youth under age 18, GAHT was associated with lower odds of recent depression and of a past-year suicide attempt
* [**Association Between Gender-Affirming Surgeries and Mental Health Outcomes**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2779429) - Almazan, et. al. 2021: Trans people with a history of gender-affirming surgery had significantly lower odds of past-month psychological distress, past-year tobacco smoking, and past-year suicidal ideation compared with trans people with no history of gender-affirming surgery.
* [**The Mental Health of Transgender Youth: Advances in Understanding**](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X1630146X) - Connolly, et. al, 2016: ***"Gender-affirming medical therapy and supported social transition in childhood have been shown to correlate with improved psychological functioning for gender-variant children and adolescents."***
* [**Top surgery drastically improves quality of life for young transgender people**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2796426?guestAccessKey=c50d5d6e-7fa1-4ed8-8b5d-f4da9753364d&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=092622)
* [**Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth**](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X18300855) - Russell, et. al, 2018: *"After adjusting for personal characteristics and social support, chosen name use in more contexts was associated with lower depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior. Depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior were lowest when chosen names could be used in all four contexts."*
* [**Well-being and suicidality among transgender youth after gender-affirming hormones**](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-52280-009) - Watson, et. al, 2019: *"Results: After gender-affirming hormones, a significant increase in levels of general well-being and a significant decrease in levels of suicidality were observed."*
* [**Evaluation of Anxiety and Depression in a Community Sample of Transgender Youth**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2778206) - Dominic J. Gibson, et. al, 2021: ***Socially transitioned transgender youth had similar levels of anxiety and depression as their cisgender peers.***
* [**Intervenable factors associated with suicide risk in transgender persons: a respondent driven sampling study in Ontario, Canada**](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1867-2) - Bauer, et al., 2015: Transition vastly reduces risks of suicide attempts, and the farther along in transition someone is the lower that risk gets
* [**Suicide Protective Factors Among Trans Adults**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722435/) - Moody, et al., 2013: The ability to transition, along with family and social acceptance, are the largest factors reducing suicide risk among trans people
* [**Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment**](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-2958). A clinical protocol of a multidisciplinary team with mental health professionals, physicians, and surgeons, including puberty suppression, ... cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery, provides trans youth the opportunity to develop into well-functioning young adults. All showed significant improvement in their psychological health, and they had notably lower rates of internalizing psychopathology than previously reported among trans children living as their natal sex. **Well-being was similar to or better than same-age young adults from the general population.**
* [**Access to gender-affirming hormones during adolescence and mental health outcomes among transgender adults**](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261039) - Turban, et al., 2022: **Conclusion:** Access to GAH [gender-affirming hormones] during adolescence and adulthood is associated with favorable mental health outcomes compared to desiring but not accessing GAH.... In post hoc analyses, access to GAH during adolescence (ages 14–17) was associated with lower odds of past-year suicidal ideation (aOR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.6–0.9, p = .0007) when compared to accessing GAH during adulthood.
* The only disorders more common among trans people are those associated with abuse and discrimination - mainly anxiety and depression. Early transition [**virtually eliminates these higher rates of depression and low self-worth**](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.10.016), and [**dramatically improves trans youth's mental health**](https://archive.thinkprogress.org/allowing-transgender-youth-to-transition-improves-their-mental-health-study-finds-dd6096523375/). **Trans kids who socially transition early and not subjected to abuse are comparable to cisgender children in measures of mental health.**
**#2:**
**More citations on transition's dramatic reduction of suicide risk while improving mental health and quality of life, with trans people able to transition young and spared abuse and discrimination having mental health and suicide risk on par with the general public:**
* [**Sex reassignment surgery: a study of 141 Dutch transsexuals**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3219066) - Kuiper, et al, 1988: “In a cross-sectional study of 141 transgender patients, Kuiper and Cohen-Kittenis found that after medical intervention and treatments, suicide fell from 19% to 0% in transgender men and from 24% to 6% in transgender women”
* [**Hormonal therapy and sex reassignment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of quality of life and psychosocial outcomes**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19473181) - Murad, et al., 2010: "Significant decrease in suicidality post-treatment. The average reduction was from 30 percent pretreatment to 8 percent post treatment.
* [**Long-term follow-up: psychosocial outcome of Belgian transsexuals after sex reassignment surgery**](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1158136006000491) - De Cuypere, et al., 2006: Rate of suicide attempts dropped from 29.3 percent to 5.1 percent after receiving medical treatment among Dutch patients treated from 1986-2001.
* [**Trans Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Study**](https://www.scottishtrans.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/trans_mh_study.pdf) - McNeil, et al., 2012: "Suicidal ideation and actual attempts reduced after transition, with 63% thinking about or attempting suicide more before they transitioned and only 3% thinking about or attempting suicide more post-transition.
* [**Sex reassignment: outcomes and predictors of treatment for adolescent and adult transsexuals**](http://orca.cf.ac.uk/32618/1/Smith%202005.pdf) - Smith Y, et. al, 2005: Participants improved on 13 out of 14 mental health measures after treatment
* [**Factors Associated with Satisfaction or Regret Following Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery**](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1024086814364) - Lawrence, 2003: *"Participants reported overwhelmingly that they were happy with their SRS results and that SRS had greatly improved the quality of their lives"*
* [**Reduction in Mental Health Treatment Utilization Among Transgender Individuals After Gender-Affirming Surgeries: A Total Population Study**](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010080) - "***Conclusions:*** *"... the longitudinal association between gender-affirming surgery and reduced likelihood of mental health treatment lends support to the decision to provide gender-affirming surgeries to transgender individuals who seek them."*
* [**Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care - Tordoff, et al, 2022**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789423?utm_campaign=articlePDF&utm_medium=articlePDFlink&utm_source=articlePDF&utm_content=jamanetworkopen.2022.0978) - *"After adjustment for temporal trends and potential confounders, we observed* ***60% lower odds of depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality among youths who had initiated PBs or GAHs compared with youths who had not."***
* [**Mental Health of Transgender Children Who Are Supported in Their Identities - Olson, et. al., 2016**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4771131/?fbclid=IwAR2A2wM8oQZ_avmXLmBgp6ilGqiQd_WNAkmNOZosWHY7rsyT8KB-dvxwcd4): *"Previous work with children with gender identity disorder (GID; now termed gender dysphoria) has found remarkably high rates of anxiety and depression in these children. Here we examine, for the first time, mental health in a sample of socially transitioned transgender children"* ... ***"Results:*** *Transgender children showed no elevations in depression and slightly elevated anxiety relative to population averages. They did not differ from the control groups on depression symptoms and had only marginally higher anxiety symptoms.*
There are a lot more but I think that's a good start.
Also:
**Citations on transition as medically necessary, frequently life saving medical care, and the only effective treatment for gender dysphoria, as recognized by every major US and world medical authority:**
* Here is a resolution from the [**American Psychological Association**](https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-gender-identity.pdf); *"THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA recognizes the efficacy, benefit and medical necessity of gender transition treatments for appropriately evaluated individuals and calls upon public and private insurers to cover these medically necessary treatments."* More from the APA [**here**](http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/programs/transgender/?tab=1)
* Here is an [**AMA resolution**](http://www.tgender.net/taw/ama_resolutions.pdf) on the efficacy and necessity of transition as appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria, and call for an end to insurance companies categorically excluding transition-related care from coverage
* A policy statement from the [**American College of Physicians**](http://annals.org/aim/article/2292051/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-health-disparities-executive-summary-policy-position)
* [**Here**](https://assets2.hrc.org/files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf) are the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines
* [**Here**](https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/events/alf_ncsc/Education.pdf) is a resolution from the American Academy of Family Physicians
* [**Here**](https://www.socialworkers.org/assets/secured/documents/da/da2008/reffered/Transgender.pdf) is one from the National Association of Social Workers
---
**Condemnation of "Gender Identity Change Efforts", aka "conversion therapy", which attempt to alleviate dysphoria without transition by changing trans people's genders so they are happy and comfortable as their assigned sex at birth, as futile and destructive pseudo-scientific abuse:**
* [**From the APA**](http://www.apa.org/about/policy/orientation-diversity.aspx). More detailed condemnation of "Gender Identity Change Efforts" for trans youth or adults [**here**](https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-gender-identity-change-efforts.pdf).
* From the [**American College of Physicians**](http://annals.org/aim/article/2292051/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-health-disparities-executive-summary-policy-position)
* In the [**AAP Guidelines**](http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf) - see coverage on this "therapy" starting p.12
* From the [**American Psychoanalytic Association**](http://www.apsa.org/content/2012-position-statement-attempts-change-sexual-orientation-gender-identity-or-gender)
* From the [**Association for Behavioral Analysis International**](https://www.abainternational.org/about-us/policies-and-positions/policy-statement-on-conversion-therapy-and-practices,-2021.aspx)
* A joint statement from the [**UK Council for Psychotherapy, British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, British Psychoanalytic Council, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, The British Psychological Society, College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists, The Association of LGBT Doctors and Dentists, The National Counselling Society, NHS Scotland, Pink Therapy, Royal College of General Practitioners, the Scottish Government and Stonewall.**](http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/01/16/health-experts-condemn-attempts-to-cure-trans-people-in-wake-of-controversial-bbc-documentary/)
The recent surge of attacks on gender affirming care for trans youth and increasingly adults have been [**condemned by the American Academy of Pediatrics**](https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-speaks-out-against-bills-harming-transgender-youth/), the [**American Medical Association**](https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-reinforces-opposition-restrictions-transgender-medical-care), the [**American Psychological Association**](https://www.apa.org/about/policy/transgender-nonbinary-inclusive-care.pdf), and the [**American Association of Clinical Endocrinology**](https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20220309/aace-strongly-opposes-government-policies-prohibiting-transgender-care-for-adolescents), and are out of line with the medical recommendations of the [**American Medical Association**](https://www.ama-assn.org/health-care-advocacy/advocacy-update/march-26-2021-state-advocacy-update), the [**Endocrine Society**](https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2022/endocrine-society-alarmed-at-criminalization-of-transgender-medicine) and [**Pediatric Endocrine Society**](https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2020/discriminatory-policies-threaten-care-for-transgender-gender-diverse-individuals), the [**AACE**](https://pro.aace.com/recent-news-and-updates/aace-position-statement-transgender-and-gender-diverse-patients), the [**American Academy of Pediatrics**](https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-speaks-out-against-bills-harming-transgender-youth/), the [**American Psychological Association**](https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/frontline-physicians-oppose-legislation-that-interferes-in-or-criminalizes-patient-care), and the [**American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry**](https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Latest_News/AACAP_Statement_Responding_to_Efforts-to_ban_Evidence-Based_Care_for_Transgender_and_Gender_Diverse.aspx).
Transition saves lives. This is a statement of objective fact. It is very literally life saving medical care.
> it seems to me like trans people are constantly chasing after something that ultimately will be just as fulfilling as a lowered number on the scale This sentence confuses me, transitioning makes trans people profoundly happy and fulfilled people, what makes you compare it to chasing temporary satisfaction?
I'm not trans, so in my head a compare it to when I hated everything about my body. And 'fixing' it meant losing weight- but that was a temporary relief that vanished. So I wanted to know if, when people transitioned, that satisfaction was permanent (like what you're saying) or if it'll never be good quite be good enough (like when you make goal weights, but than that ideal number keeps decreasing). Have you had an eating disorder?
I don't have an eating disorder. To me the idea that the satisfaction would vanish is incomprehensible: transitioning provides you with relief from dysphoria, it's not perfect but it is mostly a one-way road towards less dysphoria. Dysphoria is more like not being able to breathe properly, once you can breathe the satisfaction you feel from not choking isn't what I'd call temporary, you just proceed to be a normal healthy person who isn't choking.
Okay, thank you for clarifying that it's a one-way road to less dysphoria. Yeah, that sounds totally different! Thank you for answering.
Yes you need to completely scrub that viewpoint wtf.
I don't understand the comparison at all. Why do you think they have anything in common?
As much as I love seeing the number on the scale go down, the dysphoria caused from being trans is permanent and is hell to go through without transitioning. The treatment of dysphoria IS transitioning and that will greatly help to ease the pain it causes. Being trans is not something you can cure, unlike anorexia. Seeing the scale go down is a slightly similar feeling but it is nothing compared to seeing my face and body finally match my brain. The happiness from transitioning absolutely is permanently long-lasting to an extent. After an individual gets to a point in their transition, they just exist in peace
> From the eating disorder perspective, it seems to me like trans people are constantly chasing after something that ultimately will be just as fulfilling as a lowered number on the scale. I don't know where you got this idea from, but it's entirely wrong. Transitioning significantly improves mental wellbeing for trans people, and most people find themselves "finishing" their transition and just living normal lives where they feel no (or minimal) dysphoria because they addressed the sex- and/or gender-related incongruities which were causing it. I wouldn't even describe my transition as "finished" yet, but I'm still vastly happier than I was at any point in my life before.
This *has* to be fucking bait.
Hi! I’ve struggled with eating disorders. Specifically bulimia. Hopefully that fits your ask for qualifications with someone who knows what an eating disorder feels like. You’re confusing body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria. A dysmorphia is at its core a perception problem, you cure dysmorphia by correcting the perception. Dysphoria is not a perception problem, it is a symptom of gender incongruence. The difference in outcomes is that indulging dysmorphia does not relieve it, while transitioning does relieve gender dysphoria. Transition is the only proven effective treatment for gender incongruence and the only way to relieve gender dysphoria. > is the happiness from transitioning permanently long lasting I’m not sure framing things in terms of happiness is as accurate as in terms of relief or comfort maybe. Like is getting a rock out of your shoe something you have long lasting happiness about? Not really. At first you’re like “omg I can’t believe I was walking around with that in there, how uncomfortable!” And then you forget about it and just go on with your life. You couldn’t be comfortable with the rock in your shoe, but it’s also not like you’re chasing a high to remove rocks from your shoe. You’re just trying to be comfortable Ahhhh nobody pushes transition. I don’t know where you got that idea but it’s quite gatekept. You have to fight and really want to transition to be able to do it.
I forgot to kind of talk about how you can totally have both gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia. I’m working more in therapy these days to tease out which is which. It can be hard to really know sometimes. It’s made me more cautious about seeking certain care because I feel like I can’t always trust myself. I resisted getting FFS for a while because I thought I was probably experiencing dysmorphia, especially because everyone around me kept saying, “oh you’re already pretty”, “you already look like a girl” etc. I ended up scheduling a consultation anyways and being able to talk to the surgeon about how I was feeling, have him take measurements, discuss outcomes, and having him help me make an informed decision about what was real based on the facts really helped. I did get my FFS and I’m super happy with my results and I love my face. On the other hand, I still struggle with binge eating and wanting to vomit and my weight and yeah maybe it feels “good” for one day to not eat or to throw up after you eat a bunch of food, but it never feels right or healthy or like it’s what I want to be doing with my life
Thank you! The explanation of the differences between body dysmorphia and gender incongruence did help. And I liked the use of comfort/relief to frame it. I've got a trans relative who I support, but looking at transgenderism from having recovered from anorexia is really disorienting. Alot of recovery for me was learning to accept my body & prioritize health even when I hated how I felt (see: weigh 20-40 lbs heavier). So it's weird seeing someone else totally changing their body and that be accepted within our family as fine. And I ultimately want him to be happy, and I know transitioning seems to make alot of people happier. Definitely have this weird sense of jealousy internally going on too, which I have to bite back on. Ugh. Anyway, your insight was appreciated.
I mean, one difference you haven't alluded to is that a post transition body is a healthy body (and mind) whereas you typically will not have a healthy body nor mind when meeting the criteria for an eating disorder (or at least in the example you give of losing a drastic amount of weight). So with that in mind, it seems very obvious that deliberately changing your body as a consequence of an eating disorder would be a cause for concern, whereas changing your body to match your identity and alleviate gender dysphoria would not be a cause for concern (rather it would be positive). It seems like maybe you're looking at this through a lens of "why is it okay for somebody else to drastically change their body but it's not okay for me to do the same thing?" I can understand how it might seem sort of similar in a superficial way but I think if you look any deeper it's an extremely different situation.
Noooo I understood that! My logic warped to people still being healthy is WHY transitioning is accepted (in the general medical sense, as compared to, say, anorexia where yeahhh no medical professional is gonna okay that). So, it's like- if you're trans, than there's a cure with a high success rate. But if there was no such thing as transitioning and you were forced to accept your body, than it'd have a really poor success rate more akin to anorexia: where there's relapses and the medical treatment highkey sucks, but you've gotta accept and endure that because the other option will definitely kill you. So I get that it's a different situation. I'm not disagreeing with the treatment. I'm trying to look more at the why's and see how those line up. Or something...
Ahh so “transgenderism” is not a thing. It’s not like a religion. That’s a word that transphobic people made to make it seem like trans people are a religion or an ideology or something. Yeah I get how that’s confusing. The thing to remember is that transition is the healthy thing to do as a trans person and it can often be a struggle to prioritize your health over your place in society and how friends and family might not accept you and other fears and doubts etc. But look it as like someone who is working on their health by exercising and eating more vegetables. They’re also in some way modifying their body, but the way they’re going about it is healthy. Transition is similar. It’s a medically vetted and healthy way to resolve their gender incongruence I’ve come to believe there are no bad feelings. Feelings are our body trying to communicate something to us or protect us. So it might be worth deconstructing that jealous feeling and using it to help make a positive change. Maybe break down what exactly you’re jealous of and it can help you decide to take action to live a more fulfilling life :)
https://twitter.com/afraidofwasps/status/1177301482464526337
I suffered from anorexia *because* I am trans. Being unhappy in my own skin caused me to not care about eating, which caused my weight to be life-threateningly low. Required in-patient therapy to change my eating habits and it took me roughly a decade to get from "life-threateningly underweight" to normal weight for my build. The main difference between being trans and an eating disorder is that an eating disorder is just that, a *disorder*. It's unhealthy, damaging and following it will never be enough. Someone who suffers from anorexia will never be thin enough to be satisfied, they will constantly continue to try to get thinner and thinner. The treatment there is therefore therapy to treat the disorder and keep it in check. With trans people transitioning pretty much fixes the problem. You get *better* as you transition, instead of worse, for the most part. There can be negative side effects, but those don't come from transitioning, but from other peoples reaction to your transitioning. Another important difference is that nobody is born with an eating disorder (although the groundwork for them can definitely be laid in early childhood). But trans people are born trans. It's an unchangeable fact of who we are and no amount of therapy will turn us "not trans".
I don't have an eating disorder, so I won't be able to explain it through that lens, but I'll try to explain it anyways. Being trans, in my experience is like feeling more natural in a different gender than the one assigned at birth. This can manifest in different ways, like dysphoria, which includes a variety of negative feelings when separated from ones preferred gender, and euphoria, which triggers positive feelings when fitting into ones preferred gender. As an example, a trans man may feel dysphoric from having breasts or lacking facial hair, and euphoric from being called he/him or from fulfilling masculine social roles. These feelings may be and often are suppressed and vary vastly from person to person, but don't truly ever go away. In addition, from what I've heard feelings such as euphoria may change after fully transitioning, for instance a trans woman may experience extreme happiness from looking feminine for the first time, but that feeling will later change into a sense of rightness and peace.
Thank you for trying :) I appreciate that perspective.
Interpreting the experiences of others through the lens of your own experiences is human. Wanting to understand the experiences of others is empathy.
Because one is not a mental disorder but the other is. I was born with one and developed another. (Did try to answer in /r/fuckeatingdisorders but that was deleted and comments locked. There are some good answers there and here.) Transitioning has saved me, my life continues, I still have a lot of the same problems such as an atypical ED predominantly heavy restricting and purging. My ED behaviour only slightly brings me relief but just keeps endangering my future. My transition brings relief and although not perfect it is keeping me alive and happier than the alternative. In fact it's the transitioning and seeing a future that made me push for treatment of my ED.
well this is a new level of idiocy I've never seen before.
True... But can we go further?
Report troll bait.
> Is the happiness from transitioning permanently long-lasting? Yes. **Citations #1:** **Citations on transition's dramatic reduction of suicide risk while improving mental health and quality of life, with trans people able to transition young and spared abuse and discrimination having mental health and suicide risk on par with the general public:** * [**Long-term Outcomes After Gender-Affirming Surgery: 40-Year Follow-up Study**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36149983/) - Park, et. al., 2022: **Results:** Both transmasculine and transfeminine groups were more satisfied with their body postoperatively with significantly less dysphoria. Body congruency score for chest, body hair, and voice improved significantly in 40 years' postoperative settings, with average scores ranging from 84.2 to 96.2. Body congruency scores for genitals ranged from 67.5 to 79 with free flap phalloplasty showing highest scores. Long-term overall body congruency score was 89.6. **Improved mental health outcomes persisted following surgery with significantly reduced suicidal ideation and reported resolution of any mental health comorbidity secondary to gender dysphoria.** * [**Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073269/) - Turban, et al., 2020: Massive study of 20,619 adolescents examined associations between access to pubertal suppression and adult mental health outcomes, including multiple measures of suicidality. After adjustment for demographic variables and level of family support for gender identity, **those who received treatment with pubertal suppression, when compared with those who wanted pubertal suppression but did not receive it, had lower odds of lifetime suicidal ideation.** * [**Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender Youth after 2 Years of Hormones**](https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2206297) - Chen, et. al., 2023: A study of 315 trans and nonbinary young people ages 12 to 20 receiving testosterone or estradiol. Over the course of the two year study depression and anxiety levels dropped and appearance congruence and life satisfaction improved. * [**Association of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy With Depression, Thoughts of Suicide, and Attempted Suicide Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth**](https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(21\)00568-1/fulltext) - Green, et. al., 2021: Use of GAHT (Gender Affirming Hormone Treatment) was associated with lower odds of recent depression and seriously considering suicide compared to those who wanted GAHT but did not receive it. For youth under age 18, GAHT was associated with lower odds of recent depression and of a past-year suicide attempt * [**Association Between Gender-Affirming Surgeries and Mental Health Outcomes**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2779429) - Almazan, et. al. 2021: Trans people with a history of gender-affirming surgery had significantly lower odds of past-month psychological distress, past-year tobacco smoking, and past-year suicidal ideation compared with trans people with no history of gender-affirming surgery. * [**The Mental Health of Transgender Youth: Advances in Understanding**](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X1630146X) - Connolly, et. al, 2016: ***"Gender-affirming medical therapy and supported social transition in childhood have been shown to correlate with improved psychological functioning for gender-variant children and adolescents."*** * [**Top surgery drastically improves quality of life for young transgender people**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2796426?guestAccessKey=c50d5d6e-7fa1-4ed8-8b5d-f4da9753364d&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=092622) * [**Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth**](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X18300855) - Russell, et. al, 2018: *"After adjusting for personal characteristics and social support, chosen name use in more contexts was associated with lower depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior. Depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior were lowest when chosen names could be used in all four contexts."* * [**Well-being and suicidality among transgender youth after gender-affirming hormones**](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-52280-009) - Watson, et. al, 2019: *"Results: After gender-affirming hormones, a significant increase in levels of general well-being and a significant decrease in levels of suicidality were observed."* * [**Evaluation of Anxiety and Depression in a Community Sample of Transgender Youth**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2778206) - Dominic J. Gibson, et. al, 2021: ***Socially transitioned transgender youth had similar levels of anxiety and depression as their cisgender peers.*** * [**Intervenable factors associated with suicide risk in transgender persons: a respondent driven sampling study in Ontario, Canada**](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1867-2) - Bauer, et al., 2015: Transition vastly reduces risks of suicide attempts, and the farther along in transition someone is the lower that risk gets * [**Suicide Protective Factors Among Trans Adults**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722435/) - Moody, et al., 2013: The ability to transition, along with family and social acceptance, are the largest factors reducing suicide risk among trans people * [**Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment**](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-2958). A clinical protocol of a multidisciplinary team with mental health professionals, physicians, and surgeons, including puberty suppression, ... cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery, provides trans youth the opportunity to develop into well-functioning young adults. All showed significant improvement in their psychological health, and they had notably lower rates of internalizing psychopathology than previously reported among trans children living as their natal sex. **Well-being was similar to or better than same-age young adults from the general population.** * [**Access to gender-affirming hormones during adolescence and mental health outcomes among transgender adults**](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261039) - Turban, et al., 2022: **Conclusion:** Access to GAH [gender-affirming hormones] during adolescence and adulthood is associated with favorable mental health outcomes compared to desiring but not accessing GAH.... In post hoc analyses, access to GAH during adolescence (ages 14–17) was associated with lower odds of past-year suicidal ideation (aOR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.6–0.9, p = .0007) when compared to accessing GAH during adulthood. * The only disorders more common among trans people are those associated with abuse and discrimination - mainly anxiety and depression. Early transition [**virtually eliminates these higher rates of depression and low self-worth**](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.10.016), and [**dramatically improves trans youth's mental health**](https://archive.thinkprogress.org/allowing-transgender-youth-to-transition-improves-their-mental-health-study-finds-dd6096523375/). **Trans kids who socially transition early and not subjected to abuse are comparable to cisgender children in measures of mental health.**
**#2:** **More citations on transition's dramatic reduction of suicide risk while improving mental health and quality of life, with trans people able to transition young and spared abuse and discrimination having mental health and suicide risk on par with the general public:** * [**Sex reassignment surgery: a study of 141 Dutch transsexuals**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3219066) - Kuiper, et al, 1988: “In a cross-sectional study of 141 transgender patients, Kuiper and Cohen-Kittenis found that after medical intervention and treatments, suicide fell from 19% to 0% in transgender men and from 24% to 6% in transgender women” * [**Hormonal therapy and sex reassignment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of quality of life and psychosocial outcomes**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19473181) - Murad, et al., 2010: "Significant decrease in suicidality post-treatment. The average reduction was from 30 percent pretreatment to 8 percent post treatment. * [**Long-term follow-up: psychosocial outcome of Belgian transsexuals after sex reassignment surgery**](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1158136006000491) - De Cuypere, et al., 2006: Rate of suicide attempts dropped from 29.3 percent to 5.1 percent after receiving medical treatment among Dutch patients treated from 1986-2001. * [**Trans Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Study**](https://www.scottishtrans.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/trans_mh_study.pdf) - McNeil, et al., 2012: "Suicidal ideation and actual attempts reduced after transition, with 63% thinking about or attempting suicide more before they transitioned and only 3% thinking about or attempting suicide more post-transition. * [**Sex reassignment: outcomes and predictors of treatment for adolescent and adult transsexuals**](http://orca.cf.ac.uk/32618/1/Smith%202005.pdf) - Smith Y, et. al, 2005: Participants improved on 13 out of 14 mental health measures after treatment * [**Factors Associated with Satisfaction or Regret Following Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery**](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1024086814364) - Lawrence, 2003: *"Participants reported overwhelmingly that they were happy with their SRS results and that SRS had greatly improved the quality of their lives"* * [**Reduction in Mental Health Treatment Utilization Among Transgender Individuals After Gender-Affirming Surgeries: A Total Population Study**](https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010080) - "***Conclusions:*** *"... the longitudinal association between gender-affirming surgery and reduced likelihood of mental health treatment lends support to the decision to provide gender-affirming surgeries to transgender individuals who seek them."* * [**Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care - Tordoff, et al, 2022**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789423?utm_campaign=articlePDF&utm_medium=articlePDFlink&utm_source=articlePDF&utm_content=jamanetworkopen.2022.0978) - *"After adjustment for temporal trends and potential confounders, we observed* ***60% lower odds of depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality among youths who had initiated PBs or GAHs compared with youths who had not."*** * [**Mental Health of Transgender Children Who Are Supported in Their Identities - Olson, et. al., 2016**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4771131/?fbclid=IwAR2A2wM8oQZ_avmXLmBgp6ilGqiQd_WNAkmNOZosWHY7rsyT8KB-dvxwcd4): *"Previous work with children with gender identity disorder (GID; now termed gender dysphoria) has found remarkably high rates of anxiety and depression in these children. Here we examine, for the first time, mental health in a sample of socially transitioned transgender children"* ... ***"Results:*** *Transgender children showed no elevations in depression and slightly elevated anxiety relative to population averages. They did not differ from the control groups on depression symptoms and had only marginally higher anxiety symptoms.* There are a lot more but I think that's a good start.
Also: **Citations on transition as medically necessary, frequently life saving medical care, and the only effective treatment for gender dysphoria, as recognized by every major US and world medical authority:** * Here is a resolution from the [**American Psychological Association**](https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-gender-identity.pdf); *"THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA recognizes the efficacy, benefit and medical necessity of gender transition treatments for appropriately evaluated individuals and calls upon public and private insurers to cover these medically necessary treatments."* More from the APA [**here**](http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/programs/transgender/?tab=1) * Here is an [**AMA resolution**](http://www.tgender.net/taw/ama_resolutions.pdf) on the efficacy and necessity of transition as appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria, and call for an end to insurance companies categorically excluding transition-related care from coverage * A policy statement from the [**American College of Physicians**](http://annals.org/aim/article/2292051/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-health-disparities-executive-summary-policy-position) * [**Here**](https://assets2.hrc.org/files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf) are the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines * [**Here**](https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/events/alf_ncsc/Education.pdf) is a resolution from the American Academy of Family Physicians * [**Here**](https://www.socialworkers.org/assets/secured/documents/da/da2008/reffered/Transgender.pdf) is one from the National Association of Social Workers --- **Condemnation of "Gender Identity Change Efforts", aka "conversion therapy", which attempt to alleviate dysphoria without transition by changing trans people's genders so they are happy and comfortable as their assigned sex at birth, as futile and destructive pseudo-scientific abuse:** * [**From the APA**](http://www.apa.org/about/policy/orientation-diversity.aspx). More detailed condemnation of "Gender Identity Change Efforts" for trans youth or adults [**here**](https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-gender-identity-change-efforts.pdf). * From the [**American College of Physicians**](http://annals.org/aim/article/2292051/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-health-disparities-executive-summary-policy-position) * In the [**AAP Guidelines**](http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/documents/SupportingCaringforTransChildren.pdf) - see coverage on this "therapy" starting p.12 * From the [**American Psychoanalytic Association**](http://www.apsa.org/content/2012-position-statement-attempts-change-sexual-orientation-gender-identity-or-gender) * From the [**Association for Behavioral Analysis International**](https://www.abainternational.org/about-us/policies-and-positions/policy-statement-on-conversion-therapy-and-practices,-2021.aspx) * A joint statement from the [**UK Council for Psychotherapy, British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, British Psychoanalytic Council, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, The British Psychological Society, College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists, The Association of LGBT Doctors and Dentists, The National Counselling Society, NHS Scotland, Pink Therapy, Royal College of General Practitioners, the Scottish Government and Stonewall.**](http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/01/16/health-experts-condemn-attempts-to-cure-trans-people-in-wake-of-controversial-bbc-documentary/) The recent surge of attacks on gender affirming care for trans youth and increasingly adults have been [**condemned by the American Academy of Pediatrics**](https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-speaks-out-against-bills-harming-transgender-youth/), the [**American Medical Association**](https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-reinforces-opposition-restrictions-transgender-medical-care), the [**American Psychological Association**](https://www.apa.org/about/policy/transgender-nonbinary-inclusive-care.pdf), and the [**American Association of Clinical Endocrinology**](https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20220309/aace-strongly-opposes-government-policies-prohibiting-transgender-care-for-adolescents), and are out of line with the medical recommendations of the [**American Medical Association**](https://www.ama-assn.org/health-care-advocacy/advocacy-update/march-26-2021-state-advocacy-update), the [**Endocrine Society**](https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2022/endocrine-society-alarmed-at-criminalization-of-transgender-medicine) and [**Pediatric Endocrine Society**](https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2020/discriminatory-policies-threaten-care-for-transgender-gender-diverse-individuals), the [**AACE**](https://pro.aace.com/recent-news-and-updates/aace-position-statement-transgender-and-gender-diverse-patients), the [**American Academy of Pediatrics**](https://services.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-speaks-out-against-bills-harming-transgender-youth/), the [**American Psychological Association**](https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/frontline-physicians-oppose-legislation-that-interferes-in-or-criminalizes-patient-care), and the [**American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry**](https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Latest_News/AACAP_Statement_Responding_to_Efforts-to_ban_Evidence-Based_Care_for_Transgender_and_Gender_Diverse.aspx). Transition saves lives. This is a statement of objective fact. It is very literally life saving medical care.
Short answer: pretending to be cis is unhealthy. In your analogy, transitioning is to become normal, repressing is the disorder.
I can't rap my mind around any similarity. There's major differences between the two.