Transsexuality is removed from the WHO's list of mental illnesses.
This is what the new edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) indicates. The last revision of this standard was made 28 years ago. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a standardized coding of all diseases, disorders, conditions, and causes of death. Each country, however, needs to adapt to the new ICD by January 1, 2022.
By Rede Brasil Atual - The World Health Organization (WHO) has removed the classification of transsexuality as a mental disorder, according to the new edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), published this Monday (18). The last revision of this standard had been made 28 years ago.
The ICD is a standardized coding system for all diseases, disorders, conditions, and causes of death. This standard serves to help countries obtain statistical and epidemiological data. Each country, however, needs to adapt to the new ICD by January 1, 2022.
Prior to the publication, people who did not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth were considered mentally ill by the WHO, a fact that had been the subject of claims by LGBTI organizations for years, such as gender identity disorder. However, the WHO's change keeps transsexuality within the classification so that a person can obtain medical help if they so desire, since in many countries the public or private health system does not reimburse treatment if the diagnosis is not on the list.
Another important change is the inclusion of video game addiction as a mental illness. This disorder is characterized by a pattern of "continuous or recurrent" gaming behavior. The WHO estimates that between 2% and 3% of video game players exhibit abusive behavior, but emphasizes that for now "empirical data is lacking."
The director of the WHO's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Shekhar Saxena, clarified that playing a video game is not inherently harmful. The problem, he says, arises when consumption is excessive and alters a person's behavior. "If a child, adolescent, or adult who plays games does so incessantly and stops going out with friends, stops doing activities with their parents, isolates themselves, doesn't study, doesn't sleep, and only wants to play, these are warning signs that they may have an addictive behavior and need to seek help," Saxena warned.
*With information from El País