Why You Suddenly Felt Gender Dysphoria During COVID.
COVID didn't cause gender dysphoria, but it created an incubation container that forced you to turn your lens inward—Dr. Z explains why so many people had gender realizations during this period.
Two groups affected: (1) People who already had dysphoria but thought they were coping—it suddenly became severe and unbearable during COVID. The reason? You weren't coping, you were just so externally busy that you didn't feel it as much. Your distraction mechanism was taken away. (2) People who never felt they had dysphoria before—repressed content from childhood came up when the lens turned inward.
Here's why: Western culture teaches external focus. From the moment you wake up, you're thinking about external world—getting to work, avoiding traffic, appointments, grocery shopping, gym. The world rewards external living and tells us "work work work, make more money, put in more hours." COVID cut off those interactions and forced you to stay home. More time to yourself means turning the lens inward and introspecting on who you are.
Watch to find out why introspection brings up things we've repressed or don't want to face, why gender dysphoria is like white noise you can quiet with distractions but never eliminate, and why creating purposeful incubation periods through journaling helps you understand yourself better.
