Affirming Rather than Treating Gender Dysphoria: The Invisible Victims of Political Correctness – Christianheadlines.com

In a strange sort of way, a recent Sky News story reminded me of Luke 11. Thats where Jesus asks whether, if your child asked fora fish, youd give them a snake? Or if they askedfor an egg, would you hand them a scorpion?

Heres the articles headline: Hundreds of young trans people seeking help to return to original sex. The story featured a woman who, after publicly admitting regret over her so-called surgical transition, was contacted by hundreds of people in her part of England who felt the same way.

One of those people, Ruby, also struggledwith eating disorders.One would think that thecombinationof gender dysphoria and eating disorders wouldsuggest to medical professionals that Ruby was suffering from body image issues. But, as she told Sky News,the doctors never even suggested there might be a connection there worth exploring.

Instead, it was Heres your hormones, heres your surgery, off you go.Or, to borrow Jesus words, Heres your scorpion, heres your snake.

This story is far from uncommon.Youngpeoplein emotionalpain and distress are asking adults for help. But, because of our ideological blind spots, we give them serpents and scorpions instead of what they really need.

Just consider the name given toa new childrens pediatric clinicat Akron Childrens Hospital: Center for Gender Affirming Medicine. Since the fundamental connection between gender and biological reality has already been severed by our ideological commitments, its safe to assume that doctors there will affirm, both in their diagnoses and with their prescribed treatments, whatever gender a child claims they are.

But what about the Rubys of the world? What about the hundreds of people in that one part of England who were given the wrong treatment for their psychological issues? They are victims of our bad ideas, and our blind spots. Too often, they are forced to be invisible victims, ignored because their very existence challenges the new sexual orthodoxy.

Many physicians today simply ignore that up to80 percent of the children who suffer from gender dysphoria will eventually outgrow those feelings. Even worse, they fail to connect the dots between gender dysphoria and potentially serious mental illnesses that often accompany itlike depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Or, in Rubys case, a severe eating disorder.

Multiple issues like this spark the chicken and egg questions. Does gender dysphoria cause depression and anxiety? Or is gender dysphoria a symptom of depression and anxiety?Thetruthis that no one knows with any certainty. But, the new gender ideology is leading many professionals to proceed with treatment as if gender dysphoria is no disorder at all.

So, the best treatment (the theory goes) is to affirm the young personsbelief that they are transgender and initiate the transition process as soon as possible. This will supposedly reduce the inner conflict, and in turn help with their other disorders.

This neat and tidy theory has one big problem: Theres no evidence it works.In fact, evidence points the other way.A 2011 study that followed 324 Swedish menwho had undergone sexual reassignment surgery found that 10-15 years later,their suicide ratewas 20 times higher thanthat of their peers.

Anearlier study in Britaincommissionedby the Guardiannewspaperfound that There is no conclusive evidence that sex change operations improve the lives of transsexuals, with many people remaining severely distressed and even suicidal after the operation . . .

Today, affirmation passes for care, not because it actually is, but because it affirms gender ideology, even ifit leads to life-altering surgery or hormonal treatments.If the patient later regrets it, or hurts themselves, or are miserable, well just blame it on transphobia.

Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims. We need to ensure that the victims of bad gender ideology are no longer invisible. Their stories must be heard.

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BreakPointis a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.

John Stonestreetis President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host ofBreakPoint,a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN),and is the co-author ofMaking Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

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Affirming Rather than Treating Gender Dysphoria: The Invisible Victims of Political Correctness - Christianheadlines.com