Hi everyone. I've experienced body hate for as long as I can remember. I have memories from when I was seven where I would not take off my shirt in public cause it made me feel uncomfortable, and over the years it hasn't disappeared. I feel ugly and unwanted, and my body always seems too fat or too skinny or just plain gross. I have hypospadias, which makes my downstairs area a little less pleasant to look at than most male genitalia, and there's some issues there as well. In the past few months I've been becoming a little less worried about my body hate and can now, for instance, sleep in just my underwear without feeling really uncomfortable with myself. I've also become much more self conscious and take much more time to look my best. I think this has much to do with me coming out and becoming more conscious of my body and what I want with my life. The thing is that, though it's diminished somewhat, the body hate is still there. I really dislike almost everything about myself physically. At the same time I don't feel an overwhelming desire to become a woman, however. I just feel uncomfortable and disconnected with my body sometimes. Like it's not mine, or I don't want it to be mine. I'd rather not have a body at all. Can cis people experience this kind of body hate or does this mean I'm trans? Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with it? Thanks already!
Lots of cis people hate their bodies for various reasons, but the problems trans people have with their bodies are just called body dysphoria. Dysphoria technically isn't body hate, but it can often lead to that. Dysphoria is usually felt as discomfort and disconnect from your body, so it is possible that you might have it. Are the problems with your body connected with the physical sex characteristics of your body (the gender specific parts), or is it just a general insecurity? That might be something to think about, and it'll probably be easier to find a way to deal with it if you know what's causing the problem.
