Clinically Significant Distress or Impairment?

[Agenda Dysphoria]

So, I was looking at the diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria. The DSM contains the criteria: "Significant distress or impairment in occupational functioning, social functioning and other areas of life". I'm not entirely sure what that means, also, the gender dysphoria I believe I have hasn't impaired me in my day to day life, would that mean that I'm not transsexual?

[Cindy]

Bull ->-bleeped-<-.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender

Is a good place to start.

Cindy

[justpat]

  I second Cindy's answer now there are two bulls ->-bleeped-<-ting !

[brainiac]

FYI, the "significant distress" line is in almost every DSM diagnosis. It's in there for anything called a "disorder", because  if something isn't affecting you negatively, there's no point to calling it a disorder. I think that even having dysphoria counts as significant distress.

[Jess42]

Significant distress could be anxiety of anykind and depression caused by the dysphoria. Have you ever missed work because of therapists appointment? Most therapist don't work weekends and if your not seeing one yet but planning to, you will miss work, believe me. There's occupational disfunction. Have you ever missed anything social like parties, going out to eat with friends, movie openings and so on, just because you were dysphoric and couldn't manage to deal with other people at the time? There's the social dysfunction. It's just the system.

[Mariax]

Think about depression. Most people feel down at least part of the time, but they get back to feeling normal before long.

Full blown depression, though, can make everything feel gray. You may still be able to function, but you don't feel normal. The feeling  follows you all over.

Being trans is similar. The feeling of being out of joint follows you. That can cause lots of stress. Maybe you don't get depression or severe anxiety from it (although these are common things that come with the territory), but the feeling is a finger constantly pressing down on your head.

Now, a doctor may see things differently, but I would imagine that if that pressure made you want to seek help, that would qualify as significant.

At least, this was the conclusion I reached in the end when I read the diagnostic criteria.

Does that mean a doctor will conclude you are trans? No, it doesn't. But please don't let the word significant stop you from getting help. You need help when you need it.

[Naomi]

Significant distress could be anxiety of anykind and depression caused by the dysphoria. Have you ever missed work because of therapists appointment? Most therapist don't work weekends and if your not seeing one yet but planning to, you will miss work, believe me. There's occupational disfunction. Have you ever missed anything social like parties, going out to eat with friends, movie openings and so on, just because you were dysphoric and couldn't manage to deal with other people at the time? There's the social dysfunction. It's just the system.

I'd say that's a pretty good description, if it interferes with your life in anyway it's a problem.

[Jess42]

I'd say that's a pretty good description, if it interferes with your life in anyway it's a problem.

Exactly. The way some criteria and whatever else is worded sometimes is overwhelming when it pertains to you and actually makes you feel insignificant.

[suzifrommd]

"Clinically significant distress" simply means you're unhappy enough to seek medical help.

[Tristan]

They both sound pretty bad. Does that mean that some of us that don't meet that are not really trans but something different . I'm just not sure that me or some of the others meet this ?

[Naomi]

They both sound pretty bad. Does that mean that some of us that don't meet that are not really trans but something different . I'm just not sure that me or some of the others meet this ?

I think you're trans if you think you're trans. To my knowledge the WPath is created by people who are not trans so it can never fully describe what is "required" to be trans.

[Beth Andrea]

They both sound pretty bad. Does that mean that some of us that don't meet that are not really trans but something different . I'm just not sure that me or some of the others meet this ?

It's just labeling by doctors, to help in their communications with each other (and the insurance companies). imho, you're trans if you believe/feel/know you are.

"Clinically significant distress" simply means you're unhappy enough to seek medical help.

Bingo!

[Tristan]

Oh ok. That sounds rather silly actually? But if it works I guess it's ok