The 4 Biggest Lies of Starting Feminizing HRT!
Do you feel ready to start feminizing HRT? Find yourself being held back by fear?
Fearing things you have heard about feminizing hormones? Things such as:
Hormones will make you very emotional.
You won’t pass.
You will need to be in therapy for a long time to get approved.
Hormones are very expensive.
Everyone will know you are on hormones.
You will lose your job.
Once you start hormones, you can’t stop.
Does any of these sound familiar to you?
As a result, you end up delaying your transition. Prolonging symptoms of gender dysphoria. And enduring pain and suffering!
While some of these fears are realistic, not all are true. And many are an extreme exaggeration!
Some of these fears have gotten to the point of becoming a myth.
And we don’t want that!
To dispel the myth, here are the 4 Biggest Lies of Staring Feminizing HRT!
#1 YOU NEED TO SEE A THERAPIST FOR A LONG TIME TO GET AN APPROVAL
This myth, originating from a gatekeeping model of the past, is no longer true for most parts of the US. Let me explain.
In the past, you had to be in therapy to get an approval letter to start HRT.
It took a provider anywhere from 6 months to a year or more to derive a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria.
Today, the gatekeeping model sadly still exists in some parts of the US.
As a result, people continue to suffer from gender dysphoria.
Delaying medically necessary treatment to decrease symptoms.
Nonetheless, many community health centers in the United States have developed protocols for providing hormone therapy based on an approach known as the Informed Consent Model.
An Informed Consent Model allows medical providers to assess for capacity to provide informed consent (able to understand risks, benefits, alternatives, unknowns, limitations, and risks of no treatment).
Providers are able to start gender-affirming hormones without a prior assessment or referral from a mental health provider.
While some states still require a letter, many do not!
If you are ready to start HRT and your state requires a letter from a therapist, check if providers practice the informed consent model.
You can also look for Planned Parenthood clinics. They have implemented transgender care and use an informed consent model.
#2 YOU WILL EXPERIENCE HUGE IRREVERSIBLE CHANGES
Let me start by saying that if you fear “huge” irreversible changes, it could indicate some degree of uncertainty regarding your gender identity. Because pretty much every transgender person, scared of starting HRT, looks forward to huge changes!
Now I am not sure how this myth started, given that there are very few permanent changes on feminizing hormones. Read What are Reversible and Irreversible Changes on Feminizing Hormones? to learn more.
Some permanent changes are mild breast growth and up to 40% shrinkage in testicle size. Not to mention these changes take time to develop!
Don’t let this lie hold you back! Changes take time.
The immediate relief you will experience with the right hormone in your body will help decrease dysphoria. Helping you to move forward with your transition!
#3 YOU WILL BECOME VERY EMOTIONAL ON HORMONES
This lie is deeply rooted in gender stereotypes of women as deeply emotional beings!
Yes, taking feminizing hormones will get you more in touch with your emotions and feelings.
And here is why:
For starters, you are finally doing something with your life! Hence you feel emotional about the process.
Transition often starts with coming out. As a result, you are freer to express your authentic self.
Repressed feelings and emotions you could not express finally come to the surface.
Getting in touch with your inner feminine and being able to live it makes you feel more emotional.
If you were an emotionally attuned person, to begin with, you would be a bit more because now you can fully be yourself.
As you can see, there are many reasons why starting HRT will make you emotional.
By no means are hormones solely responsible for emotional moods. And for many, the emotional changes are not present.
If you ask me, sounds like these are some healthy emotional changes!
If you think you’ll be having a nervous breakdown every day in the supermarket on HRT, I have to admit that perhaps something else is going on in your life that needs to be addressed.
#4 ONCE YOU START FEMINIZING HORMONES, YOU CAN’T STOP
Hmmm really? If this were true, we wouldn’t hear de-transitioning stories.
This lie is simply untrue, and you can stop taking hormones.
You can always discuss stopping taking feminizing hormones with your medical doctor.
Make sure you discuss it with your medical doctor because your health may require you to taper off vs. just stopping.
If you have been thinking about starting feminizing hormones to begin your transition, realize that there is a lot of misinformation out there. Some of it is true. But most of it is simply myths.
If you are planning on starting HRT, I recommend checking out my gender resource page in the states I am licensed in to find a gender-affirming prescriber in California, Texas, New York, or Florida. And if you are located in the states not listed, no worries; any of the links above offer links to the online consent-informed gender-affirming hormone care.
You may also find the following helpful:
4 Causes Responsible for Post Transgender Surgery Depression.
Here is Why Being Stared at is Not Synonymous With Being Misgendered!
3 Important Factors Which Determine the Length of Your Transition.