It’s difficult being any kind of minority. In the United States, no matter what kind of progress we’ve made in the last few decades, there is still plenty of bias against people who are “different.” Black, Latino, Asian, gay, deaf, disabled – the label doesn’t matter so much as the fact that people fear things they don’t understand, and that fear can turn to hate. It’s no wonder, then, that minorities are at a particular risk for developing substance abuse problems. One group that isn’t discussed as much as others are is transgendered individuals. They might be the most understood of all, the ones still clawing the hardest for acceptance.
LGBT people, in general, are more than twice as likely as heterosexual adults (39.1 percent versus 17.1 percent) to have used illegal drugs. According to one study, transgender students were 2.5 times more likely than people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth to use cocaine and methamphetamines in their lifetimes and twice as likely to misuse prescription pain medication.
First, what does transgender mean, exactly? Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that is different from their assigned sex. So for instance, a person may have been born with male genitalia and given a male name at birth, and then later in life realize that who they are on the inside doesn’t match the gender on the outside. This is different from cross-dressers, who will wear clothing typically associated with the opposite sex but otherwise feel comfortable with their assigned gender.
There is so much bias and misinformation surrounding the topic that many people don’t understand what it really means, and so trans people are often exposed to even more vitriol than the rest of the LGBT community. This is called transphobia, and it encompasses feelings of disgust, fear, violence, anger, and discomfort directed toward transgender individuals. It’s almost no wonder, then, that some of them would turn to drugs or alcohol to numb the pain of being scorned and misunderstood. Depression and anxiety are all too common as well.
Apart from outside influences, many trans people have struggles relating to their physical attributes, where they are sometimes unable to even look at themselves because they’re so uncomfortable with their bodies and genitalia in particular. This is called gender dysphoria, and it can often be a source of great anguish. People may turn to substance abuse in an attempt to drown out this discomfort or in order to be able to look at themselves.
Many transgender people are afraid to seek any sort of medical treatment, for fear that a doctor will discover their secret and react badly. In order to truly serve those transgender people with substance abuse problems, it might be that society as a whole must first become more accepting. There are some programs out there that are specifically for LGBT people, but unfortunately not very many. Still, times continue to change, and hopefully one day we’ll start to see this problem disappear as minorities no longer have to experience such a struggle.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504 to get started.
