Chemical dependency within the transgendered community often is mislabeled—is there gender or orientation—as social deviance. The truth is that many transgendered individuals have experienced the grief, alienation and depersonalization inherent to feeling their bodies do not express their gender. In this way, the journey transgendered individuals face has less to do with rejecting their gender, and more to do with actualizing and embracing it. Due to many societal factors, these misconceptions can lead to a painful life of alienation and scorn—from which alcohol or drug abuse provides a temporary relief.
Emotional Chemical Dependency Issues in the Transgender Community
Harassment also becomes a major experience for many transgendered individuals, with nearly 50 percent of all transgendered individuals undergoing personal verbal attacks. In fact, the threat of violence for transgendered individuals has become an unfortunate reality, with nearly 25 percent becoming the victim of a violent episode due to their gender. Some transgendered individuals have experienced sexual assault as a form of violence and prejudice, leading to buried memories that affect their daily lives. This fear, shame, sexual abuse and physical abuse can lead to a host of psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and dissociative disorders for the transgendered population.
Social Chemical Dependency Issues Within the Transgender Population
Additionally, because of the social rejection many transgendered individuals suffer, employment and housing can be difficult to find even for qualified individuals. This can lead to street life, with a higher risk of drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, and turning to prostitution to survive. Sexually transmitted diseases can also become a consequence of street life and drug or alcohol use, further causing stress and the need for medical help in the transgendered community.
For those transgendered individuals who have made the decision to alter their physical bodies to reflect their gender, drug addiction becomes a further liability. Post-operative pain medication (usually in opiate form) can become incredibly addictive, leading to prescription drug dependency—especially after repeat surgeries. Additionally, the hormone injections required for many transitional transgendered individuals can remove some of the stigma for injection drug use. While the majority of transitional patients are responsible, some find that the injection process also serves to lower inhibitions around illegal drugs, leading to injection drug use.
Chemical Dependency Recovery for Transgendered Individuals
Chemical dependency issues have an underlying root cause—something that created the perceived need for drug and alcohol addiction in the first place. Many times, these are negative beliefs about the self, unaddressed physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or even underlying chemical imbalances that need to be corrected for the body’s homeostasis. Transgendered individuals deal with heavy stressors physically and emotionally, often lying at the root of their drug or alcohol dependency.
With the assistance of a nonjudgmental, compassionate alcohol and drug rehabilitation center, transgendered individuals can find freedom from chemical dependency. Holistic or luxury drug or alcohol treatment facilities will also provide the individualized therapy, alternative medicine, nutrition and integrative treatment that will heal the mind and body, while allowing the safety and privacy that each individual deserves.
