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How to cope with Chest dysphoria
(lemm.ee)
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this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2024
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Transfem
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tbh pre-transition my main coping mechanisms were denial and dissociation, both came with a heavy cost even if they were somewhat effective (neither helped with the "biochemical dysphoria", but it definitely helped me not be bothered by a malformed body), probably not helpful for you - but the lesson I sometimes use from this is that ignorance can be bliss, just recognizing the feelings and intentionally redirecting thoughts in that moment can help, as well as avoiding mirrors and situations that highlight those feelings. Easier said than done, but it gets easier with lots of repeated and effortful practice.
Post-transition I felt breast growth could sometimes feel too slow, and finding a good padded bra (as others have recommended) that adds shape and a little size helped a lot. Eating a lot of food and gaining some extra fat also helped, but that's only once you're on HRT and your estrogen & testosterone levels are in female-typical ranges.
I guess it's good that I don't have biochemical dysphoria, at least not that I know of, my dysphoria comes mainly from my lack of breasts.
I think a padded bra or inserts would probably help me. I don't think eating more food to get fat will help me much when I'm on Estrogen cuz I work out a lot now, and I'll be doing it more then so I don't lose muscle mass as much, that's one thing I don't really want to happen when I'm on E.
I didn't know I had biochemical dysphoria until starting HRT; my mental health improved so much I realized what I experienced before as a baseline was actually clinically significant depression, anxiety, anhedonia, etc.
That said, not every trans person responds to HRT the same way (in some of the scientific literature there is mention of trans women who actually experience increased and worsening gender dysphoria on HRT despite being the "right" sex hormone).
My experience, and the experiences of lots of trans women I know IRL and online, has been that it's sorta hard to lose muscle mass significantly. It's actually something that really bothers me, my body is too muscular and male-looking.
Eating lots of food and putting on fat is necessary for growing breasts, so I highly recommend it regardless of how much you exercise - the exercising is actually great for this because it increases appetite and capacity to eat, and because exercising is a much less relevant factor for fat loss than people think. You can definitely exercise excessively and still be fat, and put on fat.
That's good to know. I guess I can still eat like that but just work out more so I stay in shape and don't lose too much muscle. Also glad to hear that muscle loss isn't immediate or complete, still not thrilled about losing any. I know that for some trans girls it's something they hate and want gone but personally I want to be a very big and muscular girl since I'm going for the butch tomboy look, and also it's nice to be strong.