It takes referrals from anywhere in England. This NHS service specialises in helping young people up to the age of 18 with gender identity issues. Your GP, other health professional, school or a gender support group may refer you to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. These include talking therapy, hormone treatment and, after 18 years of age, surgery if appropriate. If you have strong and continuing feelings of distress because of a mismatch between your sex assigned at birth and your gender identity, there are options available. You can find charities and support groups on the Tranzwiki page on the Gender Identity Research & Education website. Many have trained counsellors you can speak to in confidence. If you do not feel able to talk to someone you already know, there are charities and local gender support groups you can talk to. Schools and colleges are now much more aware of trans and gender identity issues, are keen to support young people, and have a duty to support you. You might want to talk to a parent or family member, or someone at your school or college. If you're experiencing discomfort or uncertainty about your gender identity, and it's causing you distress, it's important to talk to an adult you can trust. Depression is very common among young people with gender discomfort. In some cases the distress can be considerable. This may be affecting your self-esteem and performance at school.Īll these difficulties can affect your emotional and psychological wellbeing. You may feel social pressure from your friends, classmates or family to behave in a certain way, or you may face bullying and harassment for being different. However, if you feel as though you are struggling with your mental health you can seek help for this. Gender identity issues are not a mental health disorder or disease. If you experience discomfort with your gender identity, you may feel unhappy, lonely or isolated from other teenagers. Or, you may want to describe your sexuality and gender identity as being fluid – that is, they change over time. You may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, polysexual, pansexual or asexual.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are separate things.
Does it make me gay, lesbian or bisexual? Puberty is a time of physical changes to your body, such as the growth of breasts or facial hair. Or, you may have a strong sense of being a gender that is different to the sex you were assigned at birth and may feel that this has affected the way you feel about your body.įor young people who feel distressed about their gender, puberty can be a very difficult and stressful time.