Psychosocial aspects of gender dysphoria

INTRODUCTION: Gender dysphoria (GD) is defined as a marked incongruence between their experienced or expressed gender and the one they were assigned at birth. CASE SUMMARY: A 17-year-old male from low socioeconomic status presented with repeated inclinations to be dressed up and move like a female for the past 11 years and for past 3 months with sleep disturbance, low mood and loss of interest in surroundings, and occasional passive death wishes. There was no physical ambiguity regarding his male sex at birth. During early age, he preferred to play with girls and enjoyed the role, wearing their traditional clothes without getting any sexual pleasure in doing so. Due to this behavior, he was criticized continuously by his father and faced strong opposition from all his relatives when he expressed his wish to become a transgender. He was diagnosed with Gender dysphoria in adolescents and adults with mild depressive episode and treatment was initiated. DISCUSSION: GD occurs when an individual strongly believes that he or she was born with the body of the wrong sex. People suffering from GD were prone to serious illnesses ranging from emotional distress, depression, isolation, and in worst cases, suicide. Hence, there is an urgent need to create awareness to perceive gender expression as a continuum reducing the burden of mental health problems associated with GD. CONCLUSION: GDD is a difficult condition to deal and treat, especially in individuals with orthodox and low socioeconomic backgrounds.