Series: A transgender journey
'I'd hoped that coming out as transsexual might temper my anxiety'
Gender reassignment can take its toll on the mental health of vulnerable individuals. Juliet Jacques considers her own relationship with depression and anxiety
* Juliet Jacques
*
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 October 2010 11.31 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/05/transgender-journey-depressionI've suffered from anxiety and depression since the age of 10 – around the same time that I realised I was transgendered. I've spent nearly two decades trying to understand the relationship between the two. As I explained in my last blog, the World Health Organisation classifies gender dysphoria as a mental illness, and in Britain, transsexuality is treated through mental health services. But our complex relationships with our psychologies begin long before we enter the gender reassignment pathway and fret about whether or not the gatekeepers will judge us mentally fit to transition.
The second I recognised my gender dissonance, I knew my life would become harder.
