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Dysphoria questions

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by cameroni, Jan 15, 2015.

  1. cameroni

    cameroni Guest

    Ok! Hi, so I'm pretty sure I'm trans male, but haven't come out to anyone or spoken to other people about experiences and things and it might be important to mention that I still present as female.

    Anyway, I feel like my thinking I'm trans is invalid kind of, because I don't have any concentrated dysphoria like so many people I've read about? Mines more of an uncomfortable feeling that something is wrong with me whenever I look in the mirror or am aware of my body. It worsens when I'm on my period and I've always felt uncomfortable having breasts, so there's that. Ummm idk I feel like this discredits my identity a bit because its so different to anything I've read and this feeling has gradually crept up on me and it wasn't around when I was younger so theres that too.

    Has anyone felt anything similar? Sorry this post is probably a mess haha.
     
  2. Lazuri

    Full Member

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    I think you generally tend to think about the dysphoria whenever you are reminded about your circumstances like when you see yourself in the mirror or accidentally touch your breasts, stuff like that. Doesn't mean it's not there at all times, you just don't always think about it.
     
  3. Acm

    Acm Guest

    It sounds like dysphoria to me. People experience dysphoria in different ways.
     
  4. jay777

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  5. Tardis221B

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    ^That right there. That is me. Both that disconnect in the mirror and the feeling of invalidation.

    That being said, dysphoria is a very individual thing. And that does sound like a version of dysphoria.

    Most of my life I've been okay with my body (heck I seemed to have less body image issues than some of my female friends), but that separation from my reflection, has always been there. I look and I see a beautiful woman, but it's not me. For me dysphoria happens more mentally/linguistically. I get a feeling that something is wrong or off every time someone calls me a girl/woman/young lady/says I should join a 'girls club'... I can handle pronouns, but descriptors or the assumption that I'm female set me off. (off being unhappy, uncomfortable in the situation, upset at the assumption, or just generally depressed that people perceive me as female.)

    My understanding of dysphoria is a general sense of unhappiness relating to your gender, and how other's perceive you. Some people might have really bad dysphoria and other's might not have it that bad, nevertheless, its still a valid feeling even if its not as obvious. If it makes you unhappy, then you shouldn't invalidate that feeling, take note of it and ask why you feel that way. You'll know the answer deep down, even if it is frightening. So if you feel that you are a trans male, don't let fitting into a dysphoria box prevent you from being the man who you want to be. (*hug*)
     
  6. Mischief

    Mischief Guest

    Dysphoria didn't really start for me until I hit puberty - I started puberty considerably earlier than any of my siblings. Having said that, I did consistently feel a little odd or out of place. I'm certainly not discrediting my feelings of being trans because of this, like a lot of people have said, everyone experiences dysphoria differently.
     
  7. IvorySteel

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    People experience dysphoria in different ways. I used to never get the severe, anxiety-causing "I want to destroy this ugly body and start again"-type, I only get it now when I attempt to make myself look feminine and can see my masculine features poking through. The other type, which I've always experienced and didn't recognise as dysphoria until recently, is a vague sense of disconnect with my own body. Like when I look at myself, I don't quite recognise that person as me. I have difficulty picturing what I look like in my head. Looking in the mirror, it's like seeing an acquaintance that you know you know but can't quite place. It's not debilitating or life-threatening, just a constant, mild state of uncomfortability.
     
  8. cameroni

    cameroni Guest