Understanding gender dysphoria

Gender dysphoria is a feeling of distress that can happen when a person's gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or from their sex-related physical characteristics. Some transgender and gender-diverse people experience gender dysphoria at some point in their lives. Other transgender and gender-diverse people feel at ease with their bodies and gender identities, and they don't have gender dysphoria.

A diagnosis for gender dysphoria is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association. This diagnosis was created to help people with gender dysphoria get access to the healthcare and treatment they need. It focuses on distress as the problem, not a person's gender identity.