Lately I've been getting an increasing amount of social dysphoria. I'm wondering if others experience this as anxiety? I constantly feel anxious and really tight around my head, like someone's squeezing it and it never develops a full headache... it's just a feeling that's always there. And everytime I get gendered female or see my reflection in glass when I'm not passing I get so anxious. It's getting worse and worse... I don't even feel like I can concentrate on study or anything. It never had an effect like this on me before. Should I talk to someone about this? Who should I talk to? I'm a student and only work part-time and rent and stuff so I can't afford a therapist or anything. I'm not even sure if it's entirely related to dysphoria, or if I have anxiety for other reasons and it just makes dysphoria worse. So I have no idea what to address... I feel like it is starting to effect my normal life, and I don't want it to get worse :icon_sad: Sorry for the heavy subject.
Hello. I get headaches from anxiety. Sometimes my head does hurt, but usually it's a headache or not a headache. You can try to see a councilor or therapist through the school. In Canada, they have free counseling sessions through university. They only offer certain hours though.
I definitely get headaches from anxiety, and social dysphoria does nothing to help it. I'm not currently in a position where I can access help, but you should definitely try. Like the person above said, you should see what your school has to offer. I hope you can feel better, my guy. It's not gonna be bad forever.
Thanks guys, I do have access to counseling through my university. I forgot to mention though that I'm not studying on campus, it's online so the university is actually interstate -__- I will email them though and see if there is something they could suggest... Thanks again
If you know it's gender, you should definitely do something in this direction. It seriously eases up A LOT. You should try presenting less female and see if it helps. Feel free to ask about details. If you're worried about others' reactions, feel free to talk it through here as well. I used to get headaches a lot because I was constantly experiencing negative emotions with regard to all this being a cis girl stuff, and I was pushing it to the inside. Finding the courage to go against it cured me a lot.
Yeah, I've done a fair bit already. Like, most of my wardrobe is just guys clothes and I've started to bind and I've cut my hair. I just pass hit and miss, and I know sometimes people are reading me either way, or some have even started to look at me longer like they're trying to figure it out, and that makes me anxious a lot. I'm out of the city now, before it wasn't so bad because people were too busy going about their day. It has made me feel more comfortable doing these things, but something's still just really... eh. I feel okay just... in conflict. I'll try working on passing better though. Thank you for your advice.
Yeah, it can be distressing when people stare and examine, especially in the beginning. I totally get where you're coming from.
Yeah... I don't mind looking androgynous and people being a little confused, but it's just sort of unpleasant to have people look at you for a while and you just know that's why because it didn't happen before. Just a short update: I emailed the university and booked an appointment with a gp. This morning it got bad, like I felt like I was going to feint just walking out around town and sleep has gotten worse, headaches are more noticeable now. Got like some B vitamins and tea and stuff from the naturopath too so hoping they does something. Not sure if i should mention gender stuff to a gp or just anxiety. Ahh idk. On a positive, someone corrected themselves when they gendered me as female today. At the bus stop this older guy asked for the time and I sort of had my head down then when I put it up and searched in my backpack to get my phone he said "oh, sorry I just called you love. I should have said mate" (yes, I'm Australian, haha) and that was just... That made me feel a bit/ton better.
Oh my God, this is a lightbulb moment. I literally never had anxiety in my life before college. And then it started striking at odd-ass times like midway through a class where nothing major happened, or when I went out in public and had a social interaction with a stranger. But then my heart would race and my skull would feel pressurized and I'd start feeling like I'd die if someone looked at me. If that was dysphoria.... Wow, that makes so much sense. That explains all kinds of things about when and where it strikes. So, to answer your first question, yes, I suppose. I started having anxiety at the same time I started having problems with my gender identity, I had literally none before. I'm not sure about help if not a therapist. Ask one of your close friends to listen, sometimes just talking it out actually can lead you to solutions and management techniques. If you're a student, sometimes there are free school counselors. They're not always great, but they may be better than nothing.
Delta yeah, I get it at odd times too. Sometimes it's directly related to not passing, but other times I can't tell if it's anxiety from other things or just something at the back of my mind feeling wrong... I used to get anxiety and migraines when I was younger but I honestly can't tell if that was related to gender or not... I guess some of it could be, but I also had a pretty crap time in other ways growing up too, and it could have easily been from a lot of things. "But then my heart would race and my skull would feel pressurized and I'd start feeling like I'd die if someone looked at me." Yeah, this is what I get pretty much exactly.
