The Benefits of Accessing Primary Care

Talking to Your Doctor About Gender Dysphoria

12 August 2020

Susan Wood

Gender dysphoria isn't something that can be adequately addressed with a single visit to a medical practitioner, but this should be one of your first ports of call. Yes, you're going to the doctor to discuss a condition — but you're not going to the doctor with an illness that needs to be cured. Why is it important to have a candid conversation with your doctor about your gender dysphoria? And what can you do if you don't feel all that comfortable talking to your doctor about it? 

A Complex Matter

Gender dysphoria is a complex matter. Those affected by it might be transgender, non-binary or genderqueer, gender fluid, or gender-neutral, to name just a few. It doesn't necessarily mean that you will ultimately transition from your birth gender to another gender, but this can be the case. To put it simply, your gender dysphoria is a sense of disparity, or a mismatch, between your birth gender and your gender identity. This issue clearly requires some discussion, and your doctor should be someone you discuss it with.

Talking to Your Doctor

Your doctor is a medical professional, and they almost certainly will have worked with patients with the issue before. Your doctor should be part of your team for properly addressing your gender dysphoria, and one of their first actions might be to refer you to a psychiatrist or clinic that specialises in gender dysphoria. Again, such an action is not an assessment that something is wrong with you, but a necessary acknowledgement that the matter requires a great deal of discussion.

Your Journey

The end decision is yours, but your doctor and any medical practitioners you're referred to will be able to guide and assist you on your journey. Gender dysphoria can be emotionally distressing, both in the emotional and intellectual aspects of the process, and the potential for a negative reaction from family, friends, colleagues, and society in general. A good support team can help you to manage any distress, equipping you with the tools you need to become your authentic self.

Additional Support

It's not necessary to discuss all this with your doctor. For starters, it's an incredibly personal situation of the utmost complexity. There's also the fact that you might not want to talk to your particular doctor about gender dysphoria. You could suspect that they won't be as helpful or accommodating as you need them to be, based upon your prior interactions with this doctor as their patient. If this should be the case, there are many support and advocacy groups available to assist you, and this assistance can involve referring you to a specific doctor who is able to help.

Gender dysphoria can be a tough conversation to have with a doctor, but it's the first step on a journey that you've long-suspected you need to make.

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