Suicide Risks Significant Among Transgender Teens

Suicide risks are a key focus of health concern for many adolescents and young adults. For those with sexual identity which can be described as transgender, the risk for suicidal ideation is significantly higher than the general population with many attempting suicide or successfully achieving suicide.

For teenagers who identify their sexuality as transgender, the mental health complications are often quite complex due to peer pressures and the tendency to hide the identity for fear of retaliation. This social isolation often leads to depression, anxiety and general panic with a decrease in academic performance. For this reason, teens that experience sexual identity as transgender should be evaluated for mental health complications and suicidal thought that are associated with secondary mental health complications.

Contrary to what we may believe, many adolescents who experience emotions and thoughts associated with transgender identity, do not commit or attempt suicide due to peer influence or conflict. Instead, the tendency to act upon the anxiety and depression of transgender sexual orientation lies in the simply internal conflict the adolescent may be experiencing.

Whether you are the parent of a teenager who has identified themselves as transgendered, or you are a teen with a transgender sexual identity, it is important to understand this psychological risk. Because high school and college can be quite stressful without sexual identity conflict, when sexual identity conflict occurs, there is a greater risk for confusion and suicidal attempts. Seeking psychiatric care may be necessary to overcoming these anxious feelings.

In psychiatric care of a transgender individual, the focus of your treatment should not, necessarily, be upon the reversal of your sexual identity. Instead, you can expect that your mental health professional will provide you with the medications and therapeutic techniques that have been shown to be effective at managing the secondary mental health complications, of depression and anxiety, that often arise from sexual identity conflicts. That is to say, your mental health treatment should be designed to improve your outlook and coping skills rather than change your sexual orientation, thoughts and feelings.

As with any sexual identity confusion in high school or college, it is important to reach out to professionals who specialize in the conflicts that arise. While our society is more open today to the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered personality types, there are those individuals who still feel a need to hide their sexual identity. It is this feeling of isolation that will ultimately lead to secondary mental health complications and place you, or your child, at risk for suicidal ideation and attempts.