....want to look like the opposite gender, live like the opposite gender, be thought of as the opposite gender, and use pronouns of the opposite gender? And they want this for the rest of their life. They basically hate themselves for not being the opposite gender.  This person also wishes they were transsexual so theycould transition but fear they will still have the mind of their birth sex. Could anything else cause these feelings besides transsexualism?  Btw...they do not suffer from multiple personality disorder.

Schizophrenia can cause transexual like urges. It is estimated that 30% of delusionals schizo's will go through some kind of gender episode at some point. However it normally clears up after 6 months to a year.

Borderline personality disorder and some cases of sexual assault or abuse. I did know one girl who very adamantly identified as ftm and wanted to transition. She turned out not to be trans and had convinced herself she would be better off male due to sexual assault. At the time, she was not conscious that was the reason. I don't know how often it happens, but it has happened.
And GID is one symptom of BPD. There may be other causes. Someone wishing to escape or run away from their life. Who knows?

Look, a lot of people, particularly at your age, want to be almost anything but what they are.  That's pretty normal, a part of coming to grips with what you are, and what you are not, what you can do, and what you can't.  Oh yeah, and people who tell you 'you can be anything you want' are either lying or fools.  Either way.

I knew a rather attractive gal who became a victim of sexual assault... She suddenly quit wearing make up, shaved off her beautiful hair and started wearing her brother's jeans and sweatshirts

Unfortunately she also got mixed up with alcohol, drugs and gangs and was found dead less than a couple of years later 

Quote from: Alex201 on December 25, 2010, 07:48:12 PM
....want to look like the opposite gender, live like the opposite gender, be thought of as the opposite gender, and use pronouns of the opposite gender? And they want this for the rest of their life.

No, not for the rest of their life. That's specific to being transgender.
The people who display the rest of the behaviours who are not trans only want it 'part time' or for a defined period of time (there's a site I found for men who want vaginas, but none of them were willing to give up their penis for the rest of their life - they wanted to fulfill a whole bunch of fantasies, then go back to having a winkle, not only because they liked their penis, but they believed that having a vagina would make them a freak and lower their social status).

Quote from: Vexing on December 26, 2010, 03:52:08 AM
... they believed that having a vagina would make them a freak and lower their social status

well looking at the way that some cultures view women and indeed the way that some sections of our own western society (religious conservatives etc) view women with a trans history I guess they sadly got that bit right actually. 

Quote from: Alex201 on December 25, 2010, 07:48:12 PM
....want to look like the opposite gender, live like the opposite gender, be thought of as the opposite gender, and use pronouns of the opposite gender? And they want this for the rest of their life. They basically hate themselves for not being the opposite gender.  This person also wishes they were transsexual so theycould transition but fear they will still have the mind of their birth sex. Could anything else cause these feelings besides transsexualism?  Btw...they do not suffer from multiple personality disorder.

Yes, there is at least one other cause - the individuals could experience gender dysphoria.   I say the obvious to make a point.  Transsexualism implies gender dysphoria but gender dysphoria does not imply transsexualism.  If you experience gender dysphoria it doesn't mean you a necessarily a transsexual - even by the psychological definition.

Quote from: Alex201 on December 25, 2010, 07:48:12 PM
....want to look like the opposite gender, live like the opposite gender, be thought of as the opposite gender, and use pronouns of the opposite gender? And they want this for the rest of their life. They basically hate themselves for not being the opposite gender.  This person also wishes they were transsexual so theycould transition but fear they will still have the mind of their birth sex. Could anything else cause these feelings besides transsexualism?  Btw...they do not suffer from multiple personality disorder.

Alex:

That is pretty much the textbook definition of transsexuality. 

I am a little tickled by your use of the third person in your question, dude:  "Doc, I have this friend who has a rash..."

It is really ok to refer to yourself and YOUR discomforts here.  We do not judge you.

You have mentioned before about your doubts and fears regarding your mind were you to transition.  If you think about it though, how could you have the mind of your birth sex after transition, when your mind NOW is that of a guy?  Are you fearful that if you were to transition that your mind might flip back and you'd wish you were female again?  In other words, post transition regrets?

I can't say that it doesn't happen.  But with today's WPATH guidelines the regret rate is much less than 5% / 1000 after five years.  In other words, after five years, of those who transition (with or without surgery), over 95% are happy with their lives as they have them.

Also, that success rate is the higher than any other process to address GID or any other mental problem.  For example the success rate for classic twelve step programs for substance abuse is only about 33%.

It is also unique in that it is the only process to address a psychological condition through surgery not involving the brain.

But also, it is a one way process.  There really is no going back once you start down this road.  Once you have started HRT, through the use of testosterone, you will make yourself sterile pretty quickly.  You will never bear children.  If that is an issue, you may want to contemplate the option of freezing some of your eggs so that in future you may have them with a surrogate mother.  One of my co-workers who is FTM did just that and gave his eggs to his wife and they ended up with a darling set of twins.

Also, of course, surgery, such as radical mastectomy and hysterectomy will forever neuter you.  This is not a process to be taken lightly.  But our desperation leads us to make these life changing decisions.

-Sandy