3 Reasons Why Gender Dysphoria Shifts Throughout the Body.
Recently, a trans woman in my transgender support group asked:
“Until now, I have never felt gender dysphoria toward my genitals and wasn’t interested in bottom surgery. Why do I suddenly feel increased, unbearable dysphoria now and suddenly desire surgery?”
As she spoke, numerous heads in the group nodded.
And it became quickly apparent this was a similar experience for many.
Some spoke and shared feelings of increased dysphoria toward their:
facial hair
facial features such as nose, chin, or browbone
breasts
or voice
It became clear that a sudden spike in dysphoria toward a particular body part that didn’t feel dysphoric before didn’t just restore to genitals.
Dysphoria is such a nasty beast, it doesn’t discriminate.
I like to call this common occurrence a moving target.
An issue I have witnessed numerous times and have created a video Gender Dysphoria: A Moving Target.
But why does this happen? Here are three main reasons I found to be responsible for Gender Dysphoria being a moving target.
#1 GENDER DYSPHORIA SYMPTOMS
Remember, while Gender Dysphoria is a medical condition, the symptoms stemming from the incongruence you experience toward your body are psychological.
Symptoms such as anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts, just to name a few.
Psychologically speaking, symptoms tend to shift and vary in duration and frequency.
For this reason, it is common to suddenly experience increased detachment toward a particular body part.
That’s why you start experiencing dysphoria in regard to that area.
#2 DORMANCY EFFECT
When you are living with gender dysphoria, a big part of who you remain is in a dormant state.
This is especially true if you are still questioning your gender identity and if you are not out.
If a part of your inner, authentic self is not being expressed outwardly, it tends to remain asleep, hence the dormancy effect.
Therefore, any dysphoria in relation to that part of yourself remains dormant as well.
That’s why gender dysphoria tends to spike once you come out as transgender and shift throughout your body parts.
The part that remained dormant is no longer asleep! Resulting in increased incongruence between how you feel on the inside and how the world perceives you.
This leads to a strong desire to begin transitioning to modify your body to match how you feel on the inside, leading to increased dysphoria.
#3 SHIFT TOWARD CONGRUENCY
When you start HRT, gender dysphoria tends to decrease immediately.
That’s because your body is finally getting the right hormone and because you are taking control of your life.
But after a few months on HRT, gender dysphoria shifts to other body parts and increases.
Facial hair in trans women, for example, or chest in trans men.
Once you get your facial hair cleared or top surgery, dysphoria shifts again.
As you can see, it is an ongoing moving target. Oscillating on one body part till congruency is achieved as it shifts again.
This is the main reason for dysphoria shift throughout the body and is the main reason why you might not experience any genital dysphoria. Because initially, you are preoccupied with other body parts, especially those visible to the world, such as your face.
Once you achieve congruency, dysphoria migrates to body parts that we never felt dysphoric about.
As you can see, Gender Dysphoria is a moving target, as it shifts from one body part toward the other. If you are struggling with gender dysphoria, I encourage you to seek support from a professional or a support group in your area.
For a list of helpful resources, including great YouTube channels, I encourage you to check out my comprehensive gender resource page.