Quote:
Originally Posted by vhawk01
Ok but we aren't having a thread about whether manic depression and borderline personality are both disorders and discussing the finer points of the different treatment approaches to each. It IS controversial to call it a disorder. Go on a Trans website and start telling them you have a disorder but hey its not like anorexia now let's focus on how to treat you.
Appeal to DSMIV will forever and always be laughable as well.
The OP has a quote from the article that led to this thread which reads:
"It is a disorder similar to a “dangerously thin” person suffering anorexia who looks in the mirror and thinks they are “overweight,” said McHugh."
So it does seem pretty important to distinguish anorexia and whatever we should call it if I'm using an outdated term (I'm happy to use whatever the current accepted terms are). Because this doctor is saying they're similar and should have similar approaches to treatment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vhawk01
I guess my real question is: why is it helpful to agree to call it a disorder? Who does that benefit? Is it a tactic to try to get funding or something? If so, fine. The reason we need to call anorexia a disorder is because we sometimes have to involuntarily commit anorexics. It's hard to do that for a identity choice or whatever. Why do we need the word disorder for Trans people? Why can't we just say "are you happy great if not what can we do?"
I honestly don't know if it's useful to call it a disorder. It's certainly useful to have terms for it for clinical usage, literature, etc. Exactly what that term then is comes down to whatever function is has. If there's pragmatic value in distinction then we can come up with terms to reflect that.
It definitely seems awkward. If we don't consider it a serious mental health issue then we don't deal with it as a societal issue. If we use terms like "mentally ill" too liberally then we end up lumping it in with the insane. I think this is a problem with issues like depression and anxiety too. Depressed people don't want to be thought of as cripples but they also deserve an appreciation and the help that comes with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezlaw
dysphoria is a loaded term here because it means some sort of mental issue.
There's no reason why transgender people have to experience dysphoria is there? Growing up in a world that tells you there's something wrong with you is a problem but maybe if that goes away then transgender people are no more troubled by their gender/sexuality than anyone else.
As said, I'll abandon using the word dysphoria for any preferred word, but I've read the terms gender dysphoria and gender identity disorder to it so that's why I used it. Both are loaded in the ways pointed out.
What you say is interesting though, and comes back to what Ganstaman said about functional definitions. It's a "disorder" only if it causes distress. In that sense, I'm sure it's possible to be both trans and not be "disordered".
Speaking personally, I've had cognitive behavioural therapy with respect to my insomnia. As it was explained to me, they referred to it as a sleep disorder because the insomnia has caused me, at times, great difficulty in my day to day life. However, there's nothing necessarily wrong with a person who
can function on four hours sleep. Or times I've been the other way, sleeping fourteen hours straight and then being up for a couple of days.