Reasons Why You May Feel Worse vs Better on Hormones.
Feeling worse on hormones instead of better? Dr. Z breaks down the 4 categories explaining why.
Most transgender individuals feel drastically better on hormones—dysphoria decreases, depression and anxiety decrease. Another segment feels initially neutral, then better once acclimated or seeing changes. But a small segment feels drastically worse—dysphoria significantly increases, symptomatology spikes up.
Four categories: (1) Medical—adverse reaction to hormones, allergic reaction, other medical conditions contraindicated to hormones, physical health issues. Rule this out first with your provider. (2) Physical—not achieving secondary sex characteristics you hoped for. Older individuals exposed to natal hormone longer may not achieve drastic changes. If passability matters and you don't achieve expectations, dysphoria increases devastatingly. (3) Psychological—having standalone diagnoses apart from dysphoria (mood disorder, depression not caused by dysphoria), or unrealistic expectations from social media about immediate results. (4) Social—getting pushback, stigma, invalidation, hatred, negativity, abuse, trauma from your environment. Social factors can trump hormones even when hormones make you feel better.
Watch to find out why these categories overlap to create layers of struggle and why external validation matters but internal sense of wellbeing is even more important.
