10-Aug-2018, 08:02 PM
UHi... I’m new to this site and not sure if I’m
posting my story in the right place I’m sorry if it’s not...
Several years ago my then studious, gentle, super-geek 15y/o son who has Asperger’s Syndrome, suddenly announced that he was female (while in the grip of being acutely mentally ill with crippling OCD depression and anxiety). I recently found this site, and feel quite emotional seeing that there are now so many other parents who’ve also had to go through the hellish experience that sudden onset gender dysphoria wreaks - I felt totally isolated despite looking for help back then, there was literally no balanced support anywhere - just the horror of realising that the only support to be found was 100% biased ‘affirmation-only’ pro-trans propaganda, I was swamped with it from the NHS (Camhs/the Tavistock) when what my son and I desperately needed was the one-way trans-train to hell to be halted, and for a note of calm caution, with balanced rational support and guidance to take control. There was none of that available on the NHS. It was affirmation-only. And after one telephone call I realised looking for advice/support from Mermaids and Gires (who Camhs advised me to call) was a complete waste of time too. My son had many other crippling psychological issues, declaring that he’d been misgendered from birth was just one of them - he’d been worryingly addicted to online gaming and chat rooms, and within a short space of time he developed bewilderingly crippling OCD and anxiety. The GID was just one of his many issues in a sudden-onset steep decline into acute mental illness. Had he presented with anorexia I wouldn’t have expected Camhs to put immediate plans in place for a gastric band to be fitted, so I was horrified that the gender obsession/delusion was immediately unquestioningly embraced and encouraged in every way. He was even congratulated by his Camhs team for saying he was transgender. The 15 months we were under Camhs felt like being trapped in a Kafka story. Going to a private psychotherapist became our only option (we’re not wealthy, we were desperate for help). Thankfully my son agreed that his ocd and other issues had to be treated as priority, the nhs were clearly failing to do that so I had to take him away from Camhs and the Tavistock and their one-way pathway unquestioningly embracing transgenderism while failing to address all the other seriously debilitating ocd/anxiety issues that had bought my son’s day to day life to a complete standstill. They’d bought into his transgender self-diagnosis 100% from day one. I became the enemy because I said I felt it was inappropriate to embrace just one of his many totally out of character obsessions that had suddenly arisen. On top of struggling alone to cope with a mentally ill adolescent, it then became a battle to save my son from the reckless nhs psychologists intent on steering him to make a life changing decision while he was so very obviously acutely mentally unwell.
A hugely traumatic experience.
My son willingly saw a private psychotherapist who was recommended by a friend (i’d lost faith in thinking I’d ever find a psychotherapist who wasn’t pushing the pro-trans agenda) He has a good track record of helping adolescents - he wasn’t a gender specialist, he had no bias. Within approx 6 months I saw signs the ocd was improving, and that the transgender obsession had begun to wane. It’s a slow path to recovery as there were so many issues, but my son has been slowly adjusting to accepting (and liking) himself again. I had to take him away from the NHS affirmation-only counsellors, who were basically dangerous.
Sending gratitude to parents and campaigners who are now speaking out - the reckless abandonment of a responsible duty of care for children and adolescents suffering GID is an appalling scandal, it wrecks lives.
posting my story in the right place I’m sorry if it’s not...
Several years ago my then studious, gentle, super-geek 15y/o son who has Asperger’s Syndrome, suddenly announced that he was female (while in the grip of being acutely mentally ill with crippling OCD depression and anxiety). I recently found this site, and feel quite emotional seeing that there are now so many other parents who’ve also had to go through the hellish experience that sudden onset gender dysphoria wreaks - I felt totally isolated despite looking for help back then, there was literally no balanced support anywhere - just the horror of realising that the only support to be found was 100% biased ‘affirmation-only’ pro-trans propaganda, I was swamped with it from the NHS (Camhs/the Tavistock) when what my son and I desperately needed was the one-way trans-train to hell to be halted, and for a note of calm caution, with balanced rational support and guidance to take control. There was none of that available on the NHS. It was affirmation-only. And after one telephone call I realised looking for advice/support from Mermaids and Gires (who Camhs advised me to call) was a complete waste of time too. My son had many other crippling psychological issues, declaring that he’d been misgendered from birth was just one of them - he’d been worryingly addicted to online gaming and chat rooms, and within a short space of time he developed bewilderingly crippling OCD and anxiety. The GID was just one of his many issues in a sudden-onset steep decline into acute mental illness. Had he presented with anorexia I wouldn’t have expected Camhs to put immediate plans in place for a gastric band to be fitted, so I was horrified that the gender obsession/delusion was immediately unquestioningly embraced and encouraged in every way. He was even congratulated by his Camhs team for saying he was transgender. The 15 months we were under Camhs felt like being trapped in a Kafka story. Going to a private psychotherapist became our only option (we’re not wealthy, we were desperate for help). Thankfully my son agreed that his ocd and other issues had to be treated as priority, the nhs were clearly failing to do that so I had to take him away from Camhs and the Tavistock and their one-way pathway unquestioningly embracing transgenderism while failing to address all the other seriously debilitating ocd/anxiety issues that had bought my son’s day to day life to a complete standstill. They’d bought into his transgender self-diagnosis 100% from day one. I became the enemy because I said I felt it was inappropriate to embrace just one of his many totally out of character obsessions that had suddenly arisen. On top of struggling alone to cope with a mentally ill adolescent, it then became a battle to save my son from the reckless nhs psychologists intent on steering him to make a life changing decision while he was so very obviously acutely mentally unwell.
A hugely traumatic experience.
My son willingly saw a private psychotherapist who was recommended by a friend (i’d lost faith in thinking I’d ever find a psychotherapist who wasn’t pushing the pro-trans agenda) He has a good track record of helping adolescents - he wasn’t a gender specialist, he had no bias. Within approx 6 months I saw signs the ocd was improving, and that the transgender obsession had begun to wane. It’s a slow path to recovery as there were so many issues, but my son has been slowly adjusting to accepting (and liking) himself again. I had to take him away from the NHS affirmation-only counsellors, who were basically dangerous.
Sending gratitude to parents and campaigners who are now speaking out - the reckless abandonment of a responsible duty of care for children and adolescents suffering GID is an appalling scandal, it wrecks lives.
