TRANSGENDERAnother Form of Trans Privilege: Exempt from Exposure Therapy

submitted by lunarstrain from self.TumblrInAction

So let's say, as an example, that I am an individual with Entomophobia, I'm fuckin' terrified of bugs. Can't leave the house anymore, can't have visitors, can't open my windows or doors, can't eat produce... Because what if: bugs????

This would clearly require a good amount of talk therapy, I've definitely got issues and they need to be sorted out before anything is gonna get better. After that though, that's when Exposure therapy would begin. I'd be gradually exposed to bugs at whatever pace I could handle and then eventually encouraged to go outside again during the summer, effectively desensitizing me, allowing my brain to realize there is no reason to panic.

This has even been found to be an effective treatment for psychosomatic pain in female victims of rape in the form of dilation. Not in the way that snarts do it where you set it and forget it like a necrotic slowcooker to keep the scar tissue from building. No, she basically prods the canal, finds a spot that hurts, and applies a steady amount of pressure until the nerves calm down, eventually being desensitized after enough repetition.

So, why is it that this scientifically proven method of treatment is not applied to GD? We're constantly hearing about how not using a snart's preferred pronouns and descriptors "triggers their dysphoria", these people could genuinely benefit from being desensitized to "misgendering", allowing them to lead more productive and healthy lives. It's not even like it'd have to be "conversion therapy" where they'd have to believe or agree with the person saying "you are a boy/girl", but simply just be able to not have it upset them. Why is the treatment to avoid exposure and put the burden of their mental health on every other living person? Something we're not even expected to do for war veterans and child abuse victims with PTSD?

It's incredible how we can see how poorly this demographic is being treated from a medical standpoint simply by comparing the care protocols of other, similar conditions.

TLDR: ¿Y no exposure therapy 4 troon?

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[–]LtGreenCo 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Gender Dysphoria is, put simply, an immense dissatisfaction with one's own gender. Using exposure therapy to treat it wouldn't make sense, since technically they are already exposing themselves every waking minute, by virtue of just being the gender they wish they weren't. Note that I'm not talking about the AGP trannies; they don't have GD, they are just fetishists riding the GD coat tails.

Having said that, I also don't think transitioning is a sane treatment for GD. You're essentially having the patient just make up their own reality and pretend their situation is different. At that point you're essentially swapping one mental disorder for another.

IMO the real treatment for GD would be a thought-stopping cognitive therapy where they learn to stop the negative thoughts and focus their brain on things that actually matter.

[–]LyingSpirit472 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Well, being fair here- wouldn't exposure therapy potentially really, really work for the AGP-side? If for the actual GD sufferers, they're exposing themselves every waking minute by being the gender they wish they weren't, then by logic it'd work for AGP people so hard you give them another fetish (remember, a big part of AGP is the humiliation aspect of it, so kicking the exposure therapy into place would presumably give the AGP person the "punish your kid you caught smoking by making them smoke the whole pack" and potentially get it all out of their system.)

[–]LtGreenCo 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I could be wrong but I don't think any amount of exposure therapy to anything is going to stop AGP pervs from jerking off to themselves in a skirt. And if you could get them to stop lying about having GD for five minutes they'd probably tell you they love their fetish and don't want to be rid of it. In my mind the AGPs are a hopeless lot and they just need to go back into hiding with the rest of the fetishists.

[–]LyingSpirit472 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Well, that's why you lie to them for the exposure fetishism as well- instead of selling it as "we'll expose you to existence in a skirt", you sell it as "We're going to put your worthless sissy ass in women's clothing in front of everyone you know and make them all know what a worthless sissy little bitch you are. If you're bad enough, we might even force you to satisfy them to show them you're a worthless sissy slave whore who's only good for sucking cock" (they wouldn't, but it'd help them)- then get them excited for it and go through until it's out of their system.

[–]lunarstrain[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Using exposure therapy to treat it wouldn't make sense, since technically they are already exposing themselves every waking minute, by virtue of just being the gender they wish they weren't.

I've seen many self-identified transgender medically transitioning individuals who talk about certain interactions with other people "triggering" or "worsening" their dysphoria. I've seen too many videos of bleary-eyed transgender "men" after a supposed instance of "misgendering". That's the angle I'm approaching this from. Do you think that's a genuine portrayal of the condition? Or would you describe that as an AGP/AAP/Auto-Homo symptom? How much would you say external validation/recognition plays a part in a real case of GD?

IMO the real treatment for GD would be a thought-stopping cognitive therapy where they learn to stop the negative thoughts and focus their brain on things that actually matter.

I agree with this too, I just feel the intense emotions from supposed external gender dysphoric triggers could be lessened from Exposure therapy.

[–]LtGreenCo 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Do you think that's a genuine portrayal of the condition?

I don't believe that misgendering, deadnaming, or doing anything to remind them of their real gender can actually trigger a neurological response akin to PTSD. I'm very skeptical of that claim and I think it's more likely it is a tactic they employ to elicit attention and/or manipulate people.

Regardless, treatment for these people should be focused on helping them to identify and accept reality. The exposure therapy you speak of might be a good short term solution to fortify them against anxiety. But ultimately that might do more harm than good, because it is just making it easier for them to stay deluded.

[–]UncleWillard56 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

If there is a biological root cause for gender dysphoria, why are we not looking to cure that instead of leaning into the delusion? I read a paper that sampled hundreds of trans women (m2), men and women. The came up with some interesting trends as far as the levels of hormones and their markers as far as trans women. They actually had markers to release certain hormones that were more like women than men. So fix that? And the bigger question, would trans people accept that treatment if it made them feel better about who they were and their biological sex?

[–]lunarstrain[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

would trans people accept that treatment if it made them feel better about who they were and their biological sex?

I fear this would be called an act of genocide by the brain-dead/brainwashed trans activist majority. So many of the trans movement's arch enemies hold the stance of these people are mentally ill and need help. I feel bad for them/I'd feel bad for them if they weren't so demanding. And somehow that is seen as the ultimate sin, even to many so-called "true trans" people.

[–]UncleWillard56 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I heard "trans med" and I was like wtf? Apparently it's people who believe they are treating gender dysphoria through transition. I thought that was all trans people, but apparently you can just choose to be a loon.