Many people think you're mentally ill if you have GID. And the DSM is there to prove them right. After all, it is a manual of mental disorders and GID is in it.
A lot of what we see and read shows people out there talking about things like bathroom privileges being the same as allowing pedophiles in the womens bathroom, blah, blah, blah. Of course we know this is an irrational fear, or phobia.
Well, phobia is in the DSM too. It's under anxiety disorders. According to one psychiatrist,
"As per the DSM-IV, a phobia is defined as a significant amount of anxiety due to a specific stimulus or situation that subsequently leads to avoidance of that stimulus or situation. Phobias are clearly related to anxiety disorders. They both present with a syndrome of anxiety-like symptoms that when exacerbated can cascade into a full-blown anxiety attack, but the difference is that phobias are stimulated by a perceived fear of a particular stimulus or situation."
"leads to avoidance", "perceived fear", sounds a lot like the people who are trying to tell us we're nuts.
The next time you're faced with someone who says you need psychiatric help, ask then why they think that. Eventually you'll get the the fact they simply don't know anything about being TG and their opinions are most likely rooted in phobia.
Then you can let them know they might have an anxiety disorder called phobia and you can suggest a good therapist to help them.
