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Trans because of brain damage

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by Olive, Apr 9, 2012.

  1. Olive

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    First off, I'll say that in the summer of 2009, I was in an ATV accident that resulted in having an hole in my skull and bone fragments in my brain lining.

    I've been thinking that since the frontal lobe of the brain is personality and memory, is it possible/likely that I'm only transgender now because of this frontal lobe damage? And if I told my therapist, would he then be less likely to give me the HRT letter?
     
  2. Lewis

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    Did you feel that you wanted to be female before the accident? I personally wouldn't think that was the cause of how you feel, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out completely. Regardless of whether it was or not, just be who your are now and be happy. I don't think you should delve into it too much.
     
  3. seeksanctuary

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    As far as I know and as far as science can guess, being transsexual means that when you were in the womb... hormones fluxed about when they shouldn't have, thus wiring your brain one way but your body another. It's not something that brain damage can produce, to my knowledge.

    Even if it is, that's how you are NOW. The reasons don't matter. If it's something you need to do (transition), then that's what you should do, brain damage or not.
     
  4. Bosco

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    I study neuroscience and, to my knowledge, there isn't any conclusive (or even reliable) data about being trans and brain damage.

    Like sanctuary said, there have been associations between prenatal hormones and smaller/larger bed nucleus of stria terminals in trans people but nothing on damage or post natal changes to these areas. On a similar note, these are just correlations and there are plenty of men with small BNST/women with larger than average BNST that do not identify as transgendered. There is NO causal relationship established to date.

    That being said, I'm not sure how your therapist would respond to this info. I feel like it would depend largely on what school of psychology he or she subscribes to. But in general, the DSM is more focused on making sure you are actually experiencing gender dysmorphia and that the transition is what you truly want. They aren't too hung up on what may be the cause of it (cause at the end of the day no one knows).
     
  5. Ianthe

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    Why would brain damage make you feel like a girl?

    I mean, I suppose anything that is determined by brain structure or chemistry could hypothetically be altered by trauma or damage to the brain, but it hardly seems like the most likely scenario. It's not as if being transgender were indicative of some part of the brain not functioning well.

    Do you have other signs of brain damage?

    I think that if something had changed dramatically at that time in your personality, your family would probably have brought it up when you came out. I also think you might have noticed the change yourself. Have your friends or family ever complained about you having had a dramatic shift in personality?

    I would think it was very strange if a change in gender identity was the only sign of brain damage a person had.

    I do think that it would be important for all your doctors to have the information about your medical history. Does your therapist know about the accident? I would think that if he thought it was possible that it could have been caused by brain damage in that incident, he would have brought it up.
     
  6. PurpleCrab

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    A bit on the side of this topic I'd like to add my grain of salt.
    I've thought for a long time that not all transgendered people actually even felt dysphoria, while a lot felt different levels of it and a few felt it bad enough to cause depression and such.
    That there are plenty of people out there who feel inside like the other gender but who don't quite know about that/ don't quite care/ think every man or woman feels the same/ are Ok with feeling this way.
    Those people in particular may or may not be more likely to trans-phobia because they don't feel the distress that transsexuals feel.

    A little bit like some bisexuals will be great homophobes because THEY can choose to just date the opposite gender they think everybody can choose to do so too.

    To go back on the main topic, well I think that it may be wise to tell your therapist about your head trauma. Maybe if your dysphoria comes from the accident, other changes come from it as well, there is no knowing, and what if it is temporary? Your therapist may want to slow the process down to make sure you don't change anymore.
     
  7. Travel Tech

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    Well I'm not an expert but, why would it matter? All that really matters is that you're transgender now, regardless of the cause.