This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or an inauthentic actor.
The user's narrative is highly detailed, internally consistent, and emotionally complex, reflecting a personal journey with regret, anger, and self-reflection that is common among detransitioners. The language is natural, and the arguments are nuanced, showing a deep personal engagement with the topic rather than scripted talking points. The account describes a specific, believable psychological process and acknowledges the role of personal responsibility alongside external influences like online communities and medical practices.
About me
I started as a depressed teenager with no self-confidence who found endless validation in online communities that convinced me my unhappiness was gender dysphoria. I lied to my therapist and pushed a hesitant doctor to give me hormones, which made me feel ugly and gave me real dysphoria for the first time. I finally realized I just hated myself and wanted to be someone else, and that transition was a drastic attempt to escape my problems. After stopping hormones, I faced serious health issues for months while my body recovered. I'm now a happy guy who learned that fixing my mental health, not changing my body, was the real answer.
My detransition story
My whole journey started when I was a teenager. I went through a long depressive episode and had really bad self-confidence. I just didn't feel good about myself or my life. I showed some curiosity about gender stuff back then, but it wasn't something I really thought about.
Then I found online communities. That's where things really started. I was introduced to this whole acceptance culture and the idea of "cracking the egg." People online basically armchair-diagnosed me, telling me I was special and different. I've always been against self-diagnosing, but that constant validation really got into my head. I started to believe that my general unhappiness was actually gender dysphoria.
I had to lie to my first therapist. I had to lie to myself, too. I censored any concerns or doubts I had because I felt like I had to keep the illusion going. My family had some very valid concerns, but I just dismissed them and recited the toxic validation stuff I'd read online, like "if you doubt you're trans, you're trans."
I started taking hormones. My original doctor was actually against it; she knew it was risky and probably going to be a failure. But she was scared of being accused of being transphobic. I was pushy, and she gave in. I spent 600€ on a therapist just to lie to them and to myself.
For a little while, it felt exciting, like I was becoming someone new. But then my body started to change. I had a hormone imbalance, I felt ugly, I gained weight, and I started to experience what felt like real dysphoria for the first time. The memes and online communities make it seem like a normal, everyday thing, but once you start, you realize how serious it is. Doctors are pressured not to comment on how serious it is because they'd be labeled transphobic.
I started to realize things weren't right. Every time I said I had doubts online, someone would send me a meme about how self-doubt is a sign of being trans. No, it is NOT. I began not relating to other people's stories anymore and saw there was a lot of misinformation or blatant lies, like people talking about having "trans periods." It's nonsense.
I began hating being called by my chosen name. I couldn't tell people because I felt like I'd been bothering them so much about it already. When I was "misgendered," I actually preferred it. I stopped dressing up and stopped everything. I also couldn't imagine myself in the far future. All my "transition goals" were young, beautiful women; I realized I was just slapping stereotypes on womanhood and that I didn't actually want to be a 50 or 60-year-old woman.
I avoided questioning it for a long time because I was scared of being excluded from trans spaces. Those communities are self-reinforcing circles. You're not allowed to doubt or question anything. They demand purity in your beliefs. And once you become a threat to their logic, you become a target.
I finally realized that my problems were all linked to severely poor self-confidence. I just wanted to be someone else. Transition felt like the ultimate way to change everything that defines who you are. But it wasn't the answer; it made things much worse.
Stopping hormones was hard. I had very strange problems for months while my levels were re-stabilizing. I had an unspecified neurological issue that made me severely weak for a long time. It's only recently stopped, and I've finally been able to start working out and improving my life.
I'm not part of any religious organization, so that didn't play a role. What saved me was fixing my mental health with professional help. Transition doesn't solve depression; for me, it made it worse because I then had real dysphoria on top of depression. I am in favor of thorough psychiatric examination now. You need a true doctor's approval for something this serious.
Looking back, I feel extremely stupid. But it started when I was just a kid, so I know I wasn't fully responsible. Free, endless validation online is a powerful drug. If the internet didn't exist, I personally would never have transitioned.
I don't regret my transition because it taught me the biggest lesson of my life, but I regret ever getting into it. I hit rock bottom several times. I'm now a happy guy who has managed to bounce back.
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| Teenager | Long depressive episode and lack of self-confidence. Showed some curiosity about gender but didn't think much of it. |
| 20 | Found online trans communities, was influenced by "cracking the egg" rhetoric and acceptance culture. |
| 20 | Lied to first therapist and myself about being trans. Began censoring doubts. |
| 20 | Started taking hormones after being pushy with a hesitant doctor. |
| 20 | Body began to change. Experienced hormone imbalance, weight gain, and real dysphoria for the first time. Felt ugly. |
| 20 | Began to hate my chosen name and preferred being "misgendered." Stopped presenting socially. |
| 20 | Realized my issues were due to poor self-confidence, not gender. Underwent medical detransition and stopped hormones. |
| 20 | Experienced serious neurological health complications for months after stopping HRT. |
| 21 | Health complications subsided. Began to workout and improve life. Now a happy guy. |
Top Comments by /u/Pitoly:
Unhealthy people who prey on people who try to get healthier and confront their problems are the worst. Most of us have been part of these communities and they really are self-reinforcing circles. You're not allowed to doubt, to question anything that is dangerous for their fragile logic. Catchphrases are repeated and never really questioned ("If you have doubts about your gender, you're definitely trans" is probably the most harmful one for the youth).
And once you become a threat to their fragile logic, you become a target for a large part of their community.
Which leads me to ask them: what is the goal of your online communities?
Most LGBT "science" is written by LGBT activists in universities that made LGBT acceptance their selling argument. I think that sums it up.
Regarding the "MtF periods", I associate it with the same tendency as self-diagnosis with mental disorders. These are really two sides of the same coin: spreading medical misinformation online while pathologizing oneself.
According to the NHS, side effects do not include stomach pain (except for tibolone, but I have never seen it prescribed for trans HRT). You can get diarrhea, which could perhaps have some effects.
But even so, the medical consensus is that side effects diminish over time, especially after two years you may only get mild pain/discomfort from breast growth. The OOP probably has something else going on, or is just lying which is also a tendency I've seen especially when trans people talk about "trans period".
trans ideology is just a big example of how the internet sucks people in and spits out mental illness.
Every damn time I see someone write about how they doubt, I ask them: "What if the internet wasn't a thing?". I, personally, would not have transitioned.
Retrospectively, I feel extremely stupid. At the same time, it started when I was just a kid, so I know I was not fully responsible... Free, endless validation is a powerful drug for the brain.
I've looked into detrans tags on Tumblr and I can confirm this is everywhere. The whole website has become an adult website, except lots of children are allowed to register, like another famous website for artists (don't name it, it's even worse, they deserve to be forgotten).
I understood it is a sort of humiliating kink. It's so twisted that it bothers both trans and detrans people. This is the result of the "no kink shaming" online activism, people do extremely strange stuff that is definitely not right. I've seen people claim they go on and off hormones due to their "detrans kink". Their health is on the line...
I went to a doctor recommended by a nonprofit for trans people and he asked zero questions about my gender. The appointment lasted for ten minutes, half of which was dedicated to paperwork.
It's trivialized, even by some doctors. A lifelong hacking of your body is a huge deal. People are scared of Neuralink and similar things but HRT is seen as completely fine and ethical, even done on kids.
It's definitely pushed. The fact that some trans people think there are millions and millions of people not even aware they're trans and that they must be helped in that realization is a sign of that.
I feel like a huge chunk of the population has gone extremist. You can't voice even a simple concern anymore.
A lot of doctors are sadly not interested in the science
It's a little more complex than that in my experience. My GP was well-aware that it was risky and probably going to be a failure, and she was against it. But she was scared of being accused of being transphobic/being a bigot. Of course, those who work in gender clinics and specialize in transition are after something else; but the average doctor has, at least, a doubtful approach to that practice.
Yeah, and they even try to control detransition spaces. No respect at all.
My doctors did not think I had it, but let me transition because I was pushy and they got scared of being accused of transphobia. I did not make any threat though, it's just they knew they could expose themselves to that risk.
They were right. I'm not blaming them for giving me HRT, given my behavior back then I knew it wasn't an easy, black-or-white situation.
I'm just grateful that I was an adult when it got easy to get hormones, and not a kid. Because "socially" I had been identifying as trans from a very young age and who knows what would have happened if transition was that easy in the late 2000s.
Please, for your own health, don't stop and start HRT. I rarely say it, but if you cannot be steady in your treatment, ask for medical help to scrap it. It can be a psychiatrist's help too: be honest and tell you are hesitating so much that you have been alternating HRT and no HRT moments.
You will experience terrible consequences if you keep doing that (HRT is known to cause a lot of issues including neurodegenerative disorders according to several papers you may find in academic publications). And lack of all hormones can lead to heightened levels of cholesterol (therefore poor heart health), poor mental health, and other sex-specific symptoms.