Help for Struggling Teen: Understanding Gender Identity Issues

Gender identity issues have gotten a large amount of coverage in the past year–which is good, we need to be talking about these issues, but even with that coverage teens are still suffering. There’s a huge lack of understanding when it comes to transgender teens and it’s making it harder to get help for struggling teen students going through these issues.

Peers, teachers, and parents need to be able to spot when something is going on. They need to understand the situation instead of coming at it with fear and ignorance–which is what many families do. In order to really provide help for struggling teen students with gender identity issues, the public has to understand what they’re going through.

Transgender teens and mental health

Many people believe that just because someone is transgender means they have mental health issues–they assume this is a symptom of being transgender, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. The reason transgender individuals struggle so much with mental health issues is because of the lack of understanding and acceptance they face. Transgender youth are afraid to tell their family members about their gender identity issues; instead, they shove them down and hope they’ll disappear, which frequently doesn’t happen and leads to mental health issues. This is the reason help for struggling teen students dealing with these issues is needed.

Imagine this: you feel deep in your bones something so strongly that you decide to come out to the world about it–but then you’re met with an overwhelming amount of discrimination and hatred, maybe even from your own parents. How would you react?

This is what many transgender individuals go through. Studies have found that almost half of all transgender people deal with a mental health issue–or that 41 percent of transgender individuals try to commit suicide at some point. This isn’t because the transgender brain is innately geared towards mental turmoil, it’s because of the pressure, shame, and discrimination set on their shoulders. If it seemed like the whole world turned their back on you when you decided to be yourself, that can cause some very real damage. Programs exist that provide help for struggling teen students grappling with gender identity issues.

How to help teens with gender identity issues

An adolescent struggling with gender identity issues will not necessarily become transgender, let’s get that straight. Currently, researchers and professionals cannot tell right off the bat that an adolescent is going to move towards transgender or not, which is why acceptance and understanding is so important. Teens with gender identity issues are some of the most bullied at school, which is due to a large lack of comprehension from peers, teachers, parents, and society. We need to make providing guidance and help for struggling teen gender identity issues a priority in our schools and at home.

Elevations provides help for struggling teen gender identity issues

Elevations RTC is a residential treatment center for teens, ages 13 to 18, grappling with anxiety, defiant behavior, depression, ADHD, drug use, gender identity issues, and other emotional or behavioral issues. At Elevations, we use a combination of a focused therapeutic lens, real-world environment, secure setting, and caring staff to foster growth and success in our students. We strive to give the best help for struggling teen issues.

For more information about help for struggling teen gender identity issues at Elevations RTC, please call .