How can gender-affirming care treat opioid addiction?

How can gender-affirming care treat opioid addiction?

Transgender people deal with higher rates of substance use, but it goes beyond partaking in drugs. The LGBTQ+ community faces higher rates of opioid use disorder compared to other groups in the United States.

For some, this is all about getting through the hard times. Substances offer a way to deal with the discrimination, harassment, and bullying they face each day, while others are given drugs after surgery or medical visits.

What is gender-affirming care, and why is it important? 

Gender-affirming care is one way to support transgender and other gender non-conforming people. Put simply, this type of care helps individuals affirm how they feel about their gender. Gender-affirming care can involve psychological, social, behavioral, and medical care.

Whether a person seeks hormone-related treatments or gender-affirming therapy, they should be able to access it with no issues. This care is vital to ensuring everyone feels comfortable in their skin. When gender-affirming care is an option, people know they have safe spaces to turn to.

While some believe this type of care is harmful, the opposite is actually the truth. Gender-affirming care saves lives. LGBTQ+ people may not open up with their healthcare provider if they don’t know they’re in a safe space. In a 2022 study, gender-affirming care was linked to a 60% lower chance of depression and 75% lower odds of suicidal thoughts.

How can gender-affirming care treat opioid addiction in the LGBTQ+ community?

Minority stress is a large part of what leads the LGBTQ+ community to substance use. Sexual and gender minorities deal with tons of hate from day to day. The bullying, discrimination, violence, and other hateful acts this group experiences can take away from their psychological development and processes.

The hate this community is forced to encounter leads to extraordinary amounts of harm. They may decide to keep all of their feelings pent up inside, which can harm relationships with others and lead to negative self-views. All of these factors add up and can lead LGBTQ+ people to use opioids and substances to take away some of the pain they feel. They often turn to it as an escape. This reliance can easily grow into an addiction.

Being able to express your emotions and talk through your feelings is something many groups take for granted. What if you didn’t feel safe with your therapist or have a safe space to be yourself? What if you lacked access to things that would impact your health and help you embrace who you are?

Providing gender-affirming care opens doors for transgender and gender non-conforming people. One thing this type of care does is show that there are other ways to cope beyond drug use. It creates spaces for sexual and gender minorities to open up and work through anything that is getting in the way of their happiness.

Gender-affirming care defeats some of the need that transgender and other gender-diverse groups feel to use substances and opioids. It gives them a solution rather than a way to numb the pain. Making gender-affirming care the norm and implementing it all over the United States is a large step in treating opioid addiction among the LGBTQ+ community.