Transgender Drug Rehab Centers

Drug addiction that occurs in the transgendered community often becomes misunderstood simply as the expression of hedonism. In fact, many transgendered individuals have been affected by factors involved in mainstream addictions, such as genetic influences, social pressures and cases of Dual Diagnosis . However, many transgendered individuals also have psychological and emotional reasons for turning to drug addiction, including the grief and isolation of identification with a gender that is at odds with their physical status as defined by society.  Many transgendered individuals seek escape and relief through the use of drugs and alcohol, only to find themselves encountering a secondary set of problems.

Psychological Factors for Addiction Among Transgendered Individuals

Many transgendered individuals experience high degrees of alienation due to their gender assignment struggles. Most individuals who are transgendered do not fit societal norms when it comes to gender expression, with vocal tones, facial features and body types that typify the opposite sex. However, the main issue transgendered individuals face is the internal identification with a different gender – causing identity issues that can be inherently painful and conflicting and offer little outward evidence of a struggle. Attempts to embrace their core gender often become the subject of mockery and minimization, seen as gender-bending behaviors rather than genuine attempts at self-expression.

For many transgendered individuals, forms of personal harassment have become expected to endure and almost half of transgendered men and women have been victims of verbal assault. Many who voice their disapproval also perpetuate violence, with hate-fueled physical attacks affecting one in four transgendered individuals. In addition to verbal abuse and physical hate crimes, violence has also become a weapon of choice against transgendered individuals, leading to symptoms such as depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other dissociative disorders.  Many individuals turn to substance abuse to numb emotional pain in order to cope with these hate crimes, as well as the psychological damage that serves as a fallout from those experiences.

Social Pressures and Transgender Drug Addiction

Furthermore, due to the social isolation that transgendered individuals often must undergo, basic needs can go unmet. In fact, finding a job and even a dwelling place can be incredibly difficult for transgendered individuals who are viewed as strange or different.  A large number of transgendered individuals end up living on the street due to these dynamics, experiencing a heightened risk of substance abuse. In fact, many transgendered individuals become homeless as a result, with some foraying into solicitation in order to survive. Other consequences of street life involve further violence, sexually transmitted infection acquisition, HIV exposure and medical emergencies due to lack of proper nutrition, shelter and medical care. Drug addiction ends up becoming a way of life for many transgendered homeless and a way to escape the harsh realities of street life.

Many individuals who have undergone gender reassignment surgery also experience a heightened risk of drug addiction. Prescription analgesics (often in the form of opiates) can quickly lead to addiction due to drug tolerance, especially in those who necessitate several surgeries to complete gender reassignment. Injectable hormones dispensed in order to facilitate gender reassignment also can serve to desensitize individuals to the regular use of needles. As a result, some transgendered individuals find that the combination of lowered inhibitions and opiate dependency actually facilitates the use of injectable opiates such as heroin and morphine.