I walked away from mental health when I saw the truth: the field I loved—built on helping people face reality—had morphed into a billing racket, slapping codes on every kid’s cry for a buck. That betrayal hit hard, but nothing stings like watching the American Psychiatric Association (APA), doctors, and Big Pharma push a generation of children into harm with gender-affirming care—a $200M-$500M lie that defies data, ethics, and common sense. As a former professional, I’m disillusioned, disappointed, and damn near done with a system that’s traded truth for profit.
Look at the numbers—real, kid-specific numbers. Groningen’s 15-year study (2024) tracked 2,772 kids, 11 to 25—89% settled into their biological sex, no drugs, no cuts, just reality kicking in [1]. Steensma (2013) followed 127 dysphoric kids, 5 to 19—63% accepted their natal sex by adolescence, no help needed [2]. That’s 63-89% who’d cope with XY as male or XX as female if we let them. Mental health’s own game—50-70% success with CBT for depression, anorexia, PTSD—proves reality works (Cuijpers, 2013; Phillips, 2010; Foa, 2009) [3, 4, 5]. So why the hell are we lying to kids, saying they can change their sex, when biology says no?
The DSM-5 (2013) pulled the trigger—ditching “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID), a reality-based frame, for “Gender Dysphoria,” a distress code that opened the floodgates [6]. GID said, “Let’s help them accept reality”—63-89% did. Dysphoria says, “Pump them with blockers”—$180M-$360M a year for Big Pharma, 7-10% bone loss by their 20s (Klink, 2015; De Vries, 2014) [7, 8]. Hormones—$12M-$48M—sterilize them by 18, before brains mature at 25 (Sowell, 2003) [9]. Rare surgeries pre-18? $5M-$10M, 10-20% complications (Murad, 2010) [10]. That’s $200M-$500M total—pharma’s $400M cut dwarfs doctors’ $20M-$75M [11]. Reality-based therapy? $15M-$45M—90% less cash, zero harm.
I saw the field turn everything into a billable code—grief, tantrums, now gender confusion. DSM-5’s shift wasn’t science—63-89% desistance screamed “wait”—it was a cash grab. Pharma’s $400M cheered; WPATH pushed blockers while pocketing drug money [12]. Referrals spiked 20-30% post-2013 (Tavistock) [13]—De Vries’ 70 kids (2014) got relief, sure, but 5-10 years isn’t 25, and harm’s permanent [8]. The APA sold out—culture whined, profit winked, and truth got buried. Mental health’s job—cope with reality, not lie—died for a $500M industry.
I’m gut-punched—disillusioned by a field I joined to guide kids through truth—XY is male, deal with it—not peddle illusions that end in sterility before they can think straight. Doctors profit ($20M-$75M), but pharma’s the pig—$400M off kids’ backs. The APA, our compass, coded distress for cash, not care—63-89% didn’t need this; the rest deserved reality first. And the parents who signed off? They’re trapped—clinging to the lie, because facing what they allowed—sterility, broken bodies—would break them. We’re failing them all—mental health’s a sham, medicine’s a mill, and boards are bought. Disillusioned? Hell yes—profit coded out our soul.
References:
- University of Groningen (2024). “Gender Non-Contentedness Study.” Daily Mail, April 3, 2024.
- Steensma, T. D., et al. (2013). “Desistance and Persistence in Gender Dysphoria.” JAACAP.
- Cuijpers, P., et al. (2013). “CBT Efficacy in Depression.” JAMA Psychiatry.
- Phillips, K. A., et al. (2010). “Treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder.” Am J Psychiatry.
- Foa, E. B., et al. (2009). “PTSD Treatment Outcomes.” J Clin Psychiatry.
- American Psychiatric Association (2013). DSM-5.
- Klink, D., et al. (2015). “Bone Density in Adolescents on GnRH Agonists.” J Clin Endocrinol Metab.
- De Vries, A. L., et al. (2014). “Young Adult Outcomes of Gender Dysphoria Treatment.” Pediatrics.
- Sowell, E. R., et al. (2003). “Prefrontal Cortex Development.” Nat Rev Neurosci.
- Murad, M. H., et al. (2010). “Outcomes of Gender-Affirming Surgery.” Clin Endocrinol.
- UCLA Williams Institute (2022). “Transgender Youth Estimates.”
- WPATH (2011). “Standards of Care, Version 7.”
- Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust (2022). “Referral Statistics Pre-Closure.”
Danielle Bee is a former Mental Health Professional
We’d like to thank Danielle Bee for this Op-Ed. As a reminder, authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers. Submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com
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