On the occasion of World Mental Health Day last week, 33-year-old
actress Ruby Rose opened up about her early childhood trauma, mental disorders,
and attempted suicides in an Instagram post.
She wrote:
Rose’s trauma and resulting mental health issues typify one of the quintessential causes of gender distress and confusion.
Unfortunately for adolescents and young adults with gender distress today who seek help, therapists often single-mindedly diagnose them with gender dysphoria and recommend life-altering gender transition that won’t suffice as treatment for mental disorders.
Rose has admitted that as a child, she felt like she had
been born into the wrong body and longed to become a boy. But in a 2015
interview, she said she’s glad she didn’t opt for gender reassignment
surgery.
“I started to change the way that I dressed and talked, and
realized that I didn’t want to transition. I just wanted to be more comfortable
in my own skin,” she said.
She later said,
“I’m a woman. I want to have babies one day, so I’m glad I didn’t make changes
earlier in my life.”
A Message Many Need to Hear
I applaud Rose for her openness about her childhood
struggles and how her desire to become male at a young age later changed. She
was brilliant to realize she would be happy to not transition.
In a day when children are increasingly pushed toward gender
transition, Rose serves as a “public service
announcement” for not acting on the desire to transition, but instead
for getting more comfortable in one’s skin. Her story also shows how early
childhood trauma, mental disorders, and attempted suicides can contribute to a
desire to transition.
That’s why she’s a hero for speaking out. Her story should encourage others to apply the brakes and examine their own childhood rather than jumping into a transition.
Sex Change Regret Is Escalating
Based on the emails I have received, the number of people
who deeply regret their gender transition is escalating, especially as young
people rush to take cross-gender hormones and undergo surgery.
In fact, just a few days ago I published an article
about hundreds who regretted transitioning both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Rose wisely avoided further trauma by choosing not to transition—but so many
have not.
I’ve openly share my story of cross-dressing at age 4 and experiencing other childhood trauma that resulted in multiple misdiagnoses, finally leading to a diagnosis of dissociative disorder. In many ways, my story resembles Rose’s.
I often get emails from people who tell me how childhood
trauma, abuse, and severe loss in their lives directly link to their desire to
transition.
My first published article nearly five years ago, which
warned about this, was titled “What
Parents of Transgender Kids Need to Know.” In the article, I point out that
studies indicate “two-thirds of transgenders suffer from multiple disorders at
the same time,” a phenomenon called “comorbidity.” The top three disorders
evidenced in transgenders are depression (33%), specific phobia (20%), and
adjustment disorder (15%).
In addition, a child who says they want to identify as the
opposite sex has a two-thirds chance of having a co-existing disorder.
Like Rose, I was once a young child hurt by trauma. But unlike her, I didn’t dodge transition. I wish I had escaped, as do the many others who write me.
That’s why I wrote my book “Trans Life Survivors” to highlight these regrettable outcomes, and it’s why
I’m so happy Rose is speaking out about childhood trauma. Her painful, but
powerful story is a message of hope to people who think they have no choice but
transition.
Unlike Rose, when I told my story I was
highly criticized for suggesting early childhood trauma and abuse, and the
mental disorders that follow, can provoke the onset of gender distress that is
diagnosed as gender dysphoria.
I am pleased Rose has not been criticized, but instead celebrated
for her important “coming out” about childhood trauma and mental health
struggles.
Please, no matter what side of this issue you are on, let’s
stand together to stop the rush to put children on puberty blockers, cross-gender
hormones, and permanent sterilization without first looking back at their
childhood history. If we look, we’ll often find that it’s filled with trauma
and abuse.
We should treat that first rather than recommending gender
transition that a child will likely regret years later.
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