This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic. The user demonstrates a consistent, personal narrative of detransitioning/desisting due to Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) compounded by a bipolar 1 diagnosis. The writing style is emotionally charged, nuanced, and self-reflective, which is consistent with a passionate individual sharing a traumatic personal experience. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or inauthentic account.
About me
I was 27 and in a terrible place when I discovered trans forums online, and it felt like a magical solution to all my problems. My mental health completely unraveled until I was hospitalized and finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Getting the right treatment made my gender dysphoria vanish completely. I now see my fixation was a desperate escape hatch, not my true identity. I'm 29 now, at peace as a man who doesn't conform to stereotypes, and I'm angry that this ideology preys on vulnerable people instead of offering real mental health support.
My detransition story
My whole journey with this started a couple of years ago, when I was 27. I was in a really bad place; my marriage was falling apart, my career was failing, and I felt like a complete mess. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and had been on medication for it, but it turned out I also have bipolar 1 disorder, which I wasn't diagnosed with until later. I think all that stress and my undiagnosed mental illness created a perfect storm.
I started spending a lot of time online, especially during the 2020 lockdowns, and fell into some really toxic internet communities. I discovered places like egg_irl, and it felt like a lightbulb went off. Suddenly, there was an explanation for why I felt so bad: I must be trans. It was like a social contagion; I didn't even consider it until I found out from others that it was an option. The idea felt magical, like a promise of liberation from all my problems. I became completely obsessed with my body and my mannerisms, convinced I was a woman trapped in a man's body. I even became convinced I was secretly intersex and demanded genetic testing from my very confused doctor. That day was one of the most traumatic and humiliating experiences of my life; I felt completely insane.
My thoughts became so erratic that I stopped sleeping and eating. My mom called the cops, and I was sectioned and involuntarily held in a psychiatric hospital. It was there, at 28, that I was finally diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder and started getting the right treatment.
Looking back, I now recognize that what I experienced was rapid-onset gender dysphoria. It wasn't a real, innate identity. It was a desperate escape hatch my brain created during a time of extreme crisis. I also learned about autogynephilia, and that resonated with my experience of fantasizing about being a woman, but I realized that was a sexual fantasy, not a reason to medically transition. I knew my fantasy of being a petite woman could never be a reality for me, a tall man, and chasing it would only lead to disappointment.
I’m grateful that my boyfriend at the time was a voice of reason and wasn't just affirming me. He was actively opposed to me transitioning, and while it was frustrating then, it probably saved me from making a huge mistake. Through proper therapy and medication for my bipolar disorder, my gender dysphoria completely vanished. I'm 29 now and in a much better place. I'm still gender non-conforming in how I sometimes dress or act, but I just don't care about labels or presentation like I used to.
I have a lot of thoughts on gender now. I think modern gender ideology has actually made things worse. It narrows what it means to be a man or a woman, so if you're a guy who doesn't fit a stereotype, you're pushed toward thinking you must be trans. We've lost the ability to just be people who don't fit in a box without needing a whole new box that comes with medicalization. This ideology requires everyone to ignore basic biology and pretend that sex is changeable, when it's not. It’s not fair that people are given unreliable information and pushed down a path that can leave them sterile or with serious health complications.
I absolutely regret ever thinking I was trans. I regret the mental anguish I put myself and my family through. I don't regret the journey because it led me to my proper mental health diagnosis, but I am angry that the ideology is so predatory and targets vulnerable, neurodivergent people like me during their lowest moments. I didn't need to transition; I needed therapy and medication. The affirmation-only model is dangerous. Not everyone who thinks they are trans actually is, and we need to be able to say that.
Age | Year | Event |
---|---|---|
27 | 2020 | During a personal crisis and lockdown, discovered trans ideology online and developed rapid-onset gender dysphoria. |
28 | 2021 | Demanded genetic testing from doctor, convinced I was intersex. Subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder. |
29 | 2022 | Received proper treatment for bipolar disorder. Gender dysphoria resolved. Came to understand my experience as autogynephilia and rejected transition. |
Top Comments by /u/pinktieoptional:
For what it's worth, stating the biological fact that a the body and brain of post-op trans woman is distinct from an AFAB woman will get you labelled as transphobic.
If you want the gods honest truth of the problem with trans activism, is they live in a farce of a reality that sex is as changeable as gender expression and it isn't.
Yes, the irony there was intentional...
Likewise, the Trans idealogy is an observable social contagion. People don't typically feel trans until they find out from others they can be trans.
And why wouldn't you? Bring able to live life as other gender sounds magical, doesn't it? Your promise was Liberation -- pulled out of the box you fit poorly, and into a new box that should fit you better!
Oh, but of course any deviation from this new path means you're not passing... but that's OK, because you will pass, won't you? All your friends and family who supported you through this journey would be really let down if you didn't...
And that's how you wake up five years later realizing this path to liberation was a path of control. And as a friendly bonus, now you might be sterile for life... Just bearing in mind they also did this to the fags in the 20's.
When Trans became an identity, it became critical to cast it as a homogeneous group of people who were that way for life. When in reality autism is overrepresented, bipolar disorder is overrepresented, boys can fetishize a cross -sex presentation autogynophilia, and teenage girls are highly susceptible to in-group pressure and conformity (clustering)
I am an autogynephile, but I have not transitioned, and I have no plans to. The reasons for this are a little complicated to fit into one reddit comment but a big part of it is as I wish I were a 4 foot nothing chick and I am a 6 foot something penis-haver.
I recognize my fantasy for my body is not realistic, and importantly, trying to shoot for it anyway would only lead to disappointment as the full extent of my fantasy is not fulfill-able.
Instead, every day I choose to be a good man... when as you likely know, most are bastards. There's not enough of us, dude. Consider it.
The gender-identity ideology dictates that you don't "become" trans -- you always were. Therefore, de-transitioners are fake by definition. And also, interestingly, if a husband transitions, the wife is and always was a lesbian. That retroactive erasure is it's own problem.
It isn't the hormones and surgeries that is the issue. It is gender identity ideology that needs to stop. It doesn't matter to activists that sexual dimorphism is baked into our DNA, "busting the binary" by teaching a generation of kids they should modify their bodies with hormones and surgeries as a means of self-expression is child abuse.
Oh, this is me! Here's one more --
Trans is for the people who don't fit in their tiny box, so society rushes to find you another one... One that neuters you on the way in.
I'm ex-trans and have a mood disorder that makes me very fun. I also talk to myself on Twitter
I'm not terribly religious myself, but here's a thought experiment -- We only lately have the technology to allow people express Trans (certain crossdressing/acting 3rd gender people have existed prior, but none of them to our knowledge were modifying their hormones and genitals.) If God is infallible, does this mean God's plan changed?
Idk man, I was textbook ROGD, or rapid onset gender dysphoria. I was reading some really toxic stuff on the internet, and it likely compounded with stress and my mental illness into one hell of a whirlwind. I am so happy my bf was a voice of reason for me, because I wasn't being reasonable.
All said, let me raise the concerning notion to you that not everyone who thinks they are Trans may be Trans.
Of course. I was being ousted from my career of 10 years while my wife was seeing other men. I was desperate for an explanation and It completely broke my brain.
Ideologues actively recruit competent people during moments of weakness, explaining away their faults with convenient dogma. Done well, you'll have a believer for life.