Are trans folk more prone to depression and social anxiety than other people in society? Why is it that some people are more affected by these issues than others? If you suffer from depression and social anxiety what makes it worse? What makes it better? Do you feel that you can learn to overcome these issues?

I believe that suffering from depression and social anxiety isn't so much of a personal problem, but a social issue.

We live in a society which collectively places a much higher value on material comfort than personal happiness. It's much easier to market and sell comfort. Comfort together with convenience is easy. It requires no work and no effort.

Personal happiness on the other hand looks good as an illusion or an ideal, but it requires effort, it requires thinking. The pursuit of happiness requires getting up out of bed, making mistakes, facing up to and meeting challenges, it requires learning, experimentation and discovery. The pursuit of happiness requires delving into the unknown, unpleasant thoughts and conversations, and hard work often for little or no return.

So comfort and convenience becomes attractive, it means sales, it brings in profits, and some will argue that it's good for the economy. For decades now we have been bombarded with advertising for comfort, comfort has been on the market and many have bought it; bigger houses, bigger cars, bigger televisions, movies in widescreen and 3D, 'pop in the microwave' meals and fast food.

Cellphones became popular until the novelty of being able to make a call anywhere wore off, and so they developed to have colour screens, polyphonic ringtones, internet access, keyboards and from this they evolved into smartphones and iPhones. When personal computers first came out you had to program your own software, then came Microsoft and Windows, desktops became laptops and then iPads, tablets and so on.

The biggest drain on our energy resources isn't human beings, it isn't big business. It's the billions of fans and cooling systems which prevent the microprocessors in all our technology from burning out.

This has also left its mark on society. We are becoming more and more cocooned in our comfort zones, we are becoming more obese, lazier, more docile, much more complacent. We are becoming less able, and less willing to deal with stuff that's unpleasant, and much more willing to let go of people from our lives who threaten the edges of our comfort zones.

It's this growing inability to confront and deal with anything unpleasant which is neglecting social issues and allowing them to fester and develop. We are developing a growing sense of entitlement and a false sense of privilege which is excluding anyone who is different, challenging or with issues.

But it's also divorcing us from the things which inspire and drive personal happiness, meaningful friendships, relationships, unique experiences, the ability to validate oneself, achieving personal goals. It's much easier to watch a DVD on your widescreen or laptop and either post about it on Facebook and tweet about it than making the effort to get up off the sofa and get out and do something with your friends.

Personally I find people who have depression and anxiety aren't necessarily weaker, or more sensitive, and I feel that in most cases they have developed the depression and social anxiety because they have been socially excluded for too long, have had to cope with too much rejection or adversity, and have had to cope alone without much support for too long. They have had fewer opportunities to find support or friends, and they have simply lost the means and the ability to validate themselves from their own achievements and personal relationships.

This is where I now change the 'we' to mean people in general to now mean 'we' the trans community.

All of the above and society's preoccupation for comfort has impacted heavily on the trans community perhaps more than most other communities. Let's face it being trans isn't always pleasant, it isn't always easy, and also it isn't always straightforward or simple.

I would even contend that it's becoming harder and harder for trans folk to come out, transition and become integrated in society. I have spent years on the fringes of the fetish and alternative lifestyles community - a community you would assume which would be just as supportive and accepting of trans as the LGBT community - and I have witnessed what I feel is a gradual shift of the trans part of that community away from the centre towards increasing degrees of marginalization.

I can only stop and wonder whether this is also the case in the LGBT communities.

This is why I believe that being trans in itself doesn't make you more susceptible to depression and social anxiety but the social exclusion and loss of relationships you suffer as a result of being trans.

What say you?

I think you make some extremely good points Stella. With me though the social anxiety is brought upon by being extremely introverted. Not being able to have the proper amount of personal space (mine is huge compared to others) leads to the depression I feel. But on the other hand, is me being trans the reason I am extremely introverted? It very well could be. Since I have always felt from the time I can remember being a girl in a boy's body, my extreme introversion may have stemmed from it. The chicken or the egg thing again.

"Are trans folk more prone to depression and social anxiety than other people in society?"

No, but being trans can sure be incredibly frustrating.

If you are unemployed, it is a challenge, but, you won't be risking losing family and friends telling people you are changing careers.

If you are moving to a new home, the stress of moving will be great, but, it isn't like you will be risking losing family and friends telling people you are considering renting instead of owning a home.

I don't like sports at all, but no one is going to act weird if one day I decide to join them watching a hockey game.

I LIKE my Facebook, but I have trouble on forums. I am not the sort to worry about privacy. But I do have a thin skin and nothing hurts more than being told to get lost. I don't mind chatting all day on Facebook and I don't even consider it a problem. It's MY Facebook page, and the people on it, they are the ones that get to go away if they don't like my content.

But even if I chat on it all day, I still prefer to meet people in person. A day without going for a walk, is something that annoys me. I prefer the walks over digital socializing. I like being actually around people for real. It took a long time to stop thinking forums were actually socializing. They aren't, they're a means to an end, a newspaper that everyone contributes to, but nothing better than that.

Are transfolk more prone? Nope. I have friends that have serious troubles in their lives, and there is nothing at all trans about them, and their griefs are as real as mine are. A local buddy is dealing with a back injury, he's single, lives alone, and is worried his future might have just gone down the toilet. He's still in his mid 30s and he has serious reason to be depressed.

Life can take a dump on any one.

My biggest grief is not a lack of hair preventing me from looking female.
It isn't a lack of breasts making wearing almost all of female fashions a hassle.
It isn't the organ between my legs making so much of society demand I be called a man.
It's a loss of pride, as I just have nothing to do in the average day to make me feel like I have worth to anyone.
I'm social baggage, I am a ward of the state effectively speaking, I am disabled, I have no income, that money is given to me, I did nothing to earn it at all. It sucks beyond description.

I would give anything for an easy solution, one I could actually use and not end up in pain over.
Being trans is a hassle, but it isn't my hell.

If you gave me a couple of million dollars, I would not need to transition.
I'd be so far out in the sticks, it would not matter if I wore a dress or if I walked around naked.
I'd be in a woodshop making something, and even if it took forever it wouldn't matter.
Or I'd be sitting under a tree hiding in a book.
I would not need the internet, and I would not need to get rid of the male looking appearance as there would be no one to see me.
It would just not be relevant. Or rather the effort to look female in a mirror would be of lesser worth.

But that's not my life. I am stuck in small town downtown, and no shop and so little to do in the routine day.
I go out for walks to be around people as that is about the size of my choices, and I prefer to do it looking female as I don't wish to be seen as male.

I spend a lot of my spare time trying to use up daylight and not have it been a wasted time entirely (not easy I don't mind saying).

I do not suffer from employment grief. There is no 'I hate my $#@*& job'.
I am not dealing with a mortgage.
I am not trying to make car related expenses.
When I go shopping I am not in a rush, as there is no reason to be, I have all day to do it.
I am not pursuing any form of education nor coping with paying off an education.

But I am unique in all of that too.

But I don't think being trans and being subject to all of the above, would make me more stressed out than a non trans person also dealing with it.

I think being trans is just an aspect of our lives, not a limiter.
We choose whether we let it be a limiter.
We can't force people to give us a job, but, we CAN force them to accept us as trans or to tell them to get lost

Maybe we are? I don't know. I know an awful lot of depressed and anxious cis people that are reluctant to even admit that something might be wrong. I think it might be more accurate to say that we're better at understanding ourselves and that it's harder for us to cover up our unhappiness.

My anxiety has to do with my fear of failure, which I can thank my dad for, and my tendency to get very easy overwhelmed by physical stimuli. Too many moving things, too much noise, too much of a certain kind of noise, certain smells; it'll all put me into panic mode. I've put off getting my driver's license for 5+ years because of it, and even now I'm all out of "appropriate" excuses to continue avoid doing it. It's an awful feeling to see my ailing grandmother having to drive herself to doctor's appointments, but the alternative terrifies me.

I don't know what causes my depression, and none of the psychologists I've been to have ever come up with a theory for me, let alone even talk about the possibility of medication. I don't seem to have any other medical reasons for it, like hormones and things. It's just something I've had to deal with for most of my life on my own terms. My father doesn't really believe in mental health and my mother is very suspicious of any non-spiritual solution to mental health problems. Needless to say, I haven't gotten very good support from them.

But your theory is one I've heard several times, and I'm very inclined to agree with it. It's a sickness stemming from cultural coercion.