Gender dysphoria is a condition characterised by distress or discomfort arising from a significant incongruence between a person’s gender identity and their sex assigned at birth, including their physical characteristics and associated gender roles. This distress can manifest as a strong desire to be rid of one’s primary or secondary sex characteristics, a desire to be treated as a different gender, or a conviction that one’s feelings and reactions are typical of another gender. While being transgender refers to the state of having a gender identity different from the one assigned at birth, gender dysphoria specifically describes the psychological distress caused by this incongruence.

The diagnosis typically requires the presence of symptoms lasting at least six months and involves two or more specific criteria, such as a strong desire to change one’s sex or to be treated as the other gender.

This realisation and process can be very difficult for individuals and psychotherapy is an integral part of this process in assisting an individual to make peace with the person they really are.