This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, the account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or inauthentic.
Reasoning:
- The comments show a consistent, nuanced, and deeply personal philosophical perspective on detransition, drawing on personal experience, therapy, and Eastern/Western philosophy.
- The emotional tone is complex and human-like, ranging from despair and dark humor to empathy and intellectual passion.
- The user specifically mentions being on HRT for three years and the difficult choice to detransition, which aligns with a desister/detransitioner narrative. The passion and anger noted in your prompt are present but expressed through articulate, introspective reasoning rather than generic slogans.
About me
I was on hormone therapy for three years before a deep personal crisis forced me to choose between learning to live with my dysphoria or giving up entirely. I found peace by shifting my perspective, learning to see my female body not as who I am, but simply as the vehicle I use to move through the world. I still have desires to change my form, but I've separated that from my self-worth. My journey through this struggle has become my greatest source of strength. I don't regret my past, but I found my answer by looking beyond my physical body altogether.
My detransition story
My whole journey with gender has been long and complicated, and it’s only recently that I’ve found a sense of peace. I don’t know if my story fits into a simple box, but here it is.
I was on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for three years. If things had been different, I probably would have continued and pursued surgery, too. But life forced my hand. I reached a point where I had to make a choice: learn how to live with my dysphoria, or stop living altogether. That was my dark night of the soul. Choosing to live meant I had to completely re-evaluate what being "trans" meant for me, and that process took years, both consciously and subconsciously.
What ultimately helped me was a big shift in my perspective. I started to see my body not as me, but as the vehicle my soul uses to get around in the world. It’s like driving a car—sure, I might have preferred a different model, but the important thing is that I am not the car. My body is just the thing I’m piloting. This idea, which I found in Eastern philosophy, was a game-changer. It made the specific configuration of my body feel less important. I started focusing on spiritual healing, which had nothing to do with organized religion for me, and everything to do with understanding my own consciousness.
I still have desires. I still wish I could change my form and have experiences that my body's shape has denied me. I still want to see an authentic reflection of myself. But I’ve learned to separate that from my self-worth. My struggles, including dealing with suicidal thoughts for over fifteen years, have become a source of strength. I’ve learned to view my weaknesses as strengths. I hold onto the hope that someday, technology like fully immersive VR might finally give me a sense of peace that my physical body can't.
I don’t have regrets about transitioning, because it was a necessary part of my path to get to where I am now. But I also don’t believe transition is the right answer for everyone. For me, overcoming dysphoria meant looking beyond my physical form altogether. Having a good therapist was crucial during this time. I’m not my body, and my reality is something I can question and shape with my mind. That’s what keeps me going.
Here is a timeline of the main events I can remember:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| Not specified | Started HRT. |
| Not specified (+3 years) | Stopped HRT after 3 years. Faced a crisis: learn to live with dysphoria or stop living. |
| Ongoing | Began a long period of spiritual and philosophical re-evaluation of my identity and dysphoria. |
Top Comments by /u/A1SH3:
So, edit/additional comment.
I was on HRT for three years - the reasons for my coming off are multiple, but I think the answer is definitely "Yes, you can overcome dysphoria without HRT and alternative treatments." I don't think that the path that I took is for everyone dealing with trans issues, just like transition isn't a solution for everyone.
I didn't really have much of a choice in coming off of HRT, and I would have continued with surgery, etc, had it been a viable option. Instead, I was presented with two options: Learn how to live with dysphoria, or stop living. What ensued, for me, was several years of consciously and subconsciously re-evaluating what "trans" actually meant for me. I've talked a little about it in other places, but the crux of the thought comes from Eastern philosophy:
My body is just the vehicle my soul uses to navigate my perceived reality.
I am not my body, my body is not separate from the environment it occupies, and the reality of the environment I occupy is questionable (RE: Descartes, Baudrillard, Hegel, Searle, Philip K. Dick). If my reality is questionable, and if I view the concept of my soul (the geist of the conscious/subconscious self) as separate from the physical and material world that I observe, then the configuration of that body becomes inconsequential.
That said, I still desire malleability of physical/material form, and I still desire to have the experiences that I have been denied because of the shape of my body, and I still desire to see an authentic, true reflection of myself.
I realize that's a little tangential to the question, but I feel like focusing on spiritual (please do not conflate this with any specific religion) healing has been an incredible boon for me.
I hope that helps someone.
You're not insignificant. At all. Don't ever believe that.
I've been dealing with suicidal ideation for about fifteen years. It's just another thing in my head now and I'm not going to give anyone the satisfaction of killing myself, and I'm not going to kill someone else and fuck up my chances at fully immersive VR, which is pretty much the only thing I'm holding out hope for giving me some semblance of peace. Until then, I'm just going to smoke too many cigarettes and drink a lot of coffee.
For me, what helped was building on the thought that my body is just the thing that my soul is driving around - Yeah, it'd be nice to have a Dodge instead of a Ford, but ultimately the important thing is that -I am not my body-.
I hope that helps
edit: thank you bot, I can't figure out how to add flair and petty things like that are inconsequential to the discussion
Hi, I would really like to read this user's post. I was only able to read part of it in my notifications. Please stop censoring voices when I have made it clear that I wish to be able to read all comments.
If you get automoderated, please feel welcome to DM me. Thanks.
Yeah, I've got a good therapist now. There's a significant chunk that I left out of the post that falls into that 'dark night of the soul' section. A lot of what's kept me alive has been finding ways to view my weaknesses as strengths. I don't want it to come across as preachy or Jesus-y, but there's a really good section in 2 Corinthians where Paul talks about a 'thorn in his flesh' and then proceeds to thoroughly eviscerate the people that call him out.
And, again, you're not insignifcant to me. You replied. That means a lot, probably more than you know. There was a reason that you ended up here, reading this and responding to it, out of the billions of people on the planet. Please don't feel sorry for me. Everything I've gone through has made me stronger. I revel in my own suffering, because that's growth, because like Vonnegut (*edit, I was tired) says - we decide, as readers, whether what happens to the main character is good or bad.