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 inauthentic.
The user ("teamalyona") consistently shares a specific, personal story of desisting after a rushed therapy session at age 15, a story that includes plausible details like their mother's refusal and their current age (25/26). The comments show natural variation in retelling and engage with other topics (like cosplay) in a way that reads like a real person. The passion and perspective align with a genuine desister.
About me
I started socially transitioning to male at 15 because I was deeply uncomfortable with my female body and thought becoming a boy would fix everything. A therapist encouraged me to start testosterone after just one session, but my mom refused, which made me furious at the time. I lived as male for a few years before I realized my discomfort was from depression and low self-esteem, not my gender. I detransitioned at 18 and went back to living as female, which felt awkward at first. Now, at 26, I am so grateful my mom protected me from making a permanent decision I would have regretted.
My detransition story
My whole journey with this started when I was 15. I was deeply uncomfortable with my body, especially going through puberty as a female. I hated my breasts and wanted them gone. I thought that if I could just become a boy, all that discomfort and the general feeling of not fitting in would go away.
I found a lot of community and understanding online, specifically in cosplay and anime spaces. At conventions, it was completely normal to see girls binding their chests to dress as male characters, or guys dressing as female characters. It felt like a safe way to explore presenting as another gender without being judged. I think that environment definitely influenced me and made the idea of transitioning seem like a possible solution.
I told my mom I thought I was trans and she took me to a therapist. This was back in 2010. After just one session that lasted less than an hour, the therapist was ready to give me a referral for hormone therapy. They even sat my mom down and questioned her about why she wouldn't let me start testosterone. I was so angry with her at the time for refusing. I felt like she was standing in the way of me finally being happy.
Looking back now, at 26, I am so incredibly grateful that she said no. Despite all our problems, she protected me from making a permanent, life-altering decision as a teenager. I never went on HRT; I only transitioned socially for a few years, from age 15 to about 18.
When I decided to detransition and go back to living as female, it was really awkward. My mom suggested I could use my middle name if going back to my birth name felt too strange, but I never connected with my middle name either. So I just started using my first name again. It felt weird for a few months, but eventually, I got used to it. Now, looking back at that time in my life, it feels like I was a completely different person. Sometimes I even forget it happened until I see an old picture.
I don't think my discomfort was really about gender. I believe I was struggling with other issues, like depression and low self-esteem, and I latched onto the idea of changing my gender as a way to fix everything. I saw my gender dysphoria as a mental illness, a symptom of a deeper problem, and I still see it that way. I'm just glad that my path only involved a social transition and that I don't have any permanent physical changes to deal with or regret.
Age | Year | Event |
---|---|---|
15 | 2010 | Socially transitioned to male. Saw a therapist who, after one <1 hour session, encouraged starting testosterone. My mom refused. |
15-18 | 2010-2013 | Lived socially as male. |
18 | 2013 | Stopped identifying as trans and began to detransition. |
18 | 2013 | Returned to using my birth female name. It was awkward but I eventually adjusted. |
26 | 2021 | Reflecting on the experience, grateful I never took hormones. |
Top Comments by /u/teamalyona:
My experience is very much the same, except I'm a bit older than you. (I turn 26 in two months.) When I was 15, I saw a doctor at a clinic that was trying to convince my mom to let me start HRT after talking to them for maybe 45 minutes. My mom refused and never took me back there. Despite all of the negative my mom did when I was a teen, I'm so grateful for at least THAT. I can't imagine where I'd be if I had started HRT as a teen.
There's a LOT of crossplaying (cosplaying as characters of the opposite gender; this is not the same as genderbend cosplays, which change the character's gender to match to cosplayer's gender) in cosplay, especially anime cosplaying, which is probably appealing to those who want to present as the other gender in a way that won't get them judged. At conventions, you won't find people judging a girl for binding her chest and dressing like a guy, and there's plenty of guys who show up as female characters. Pretty sure I see a guy dressed as a Sailor Moon character at least once at every convention. Why those groups tend to gravitate toward anime/manga in particular, I have no idea.
I think it is, but I think the mistake is to believe that 'mental illness' means something negative or that 'gender dysphoria is a mental illness' equates to comparing it to a delusional disorder like schizophrenia. I think the backlash against gender dysphoria being a mental illness comes from the stigma and belief that mental illnesses are inherently bad.
When I thought I was trans, it was still officially called gender identity disorder in the DSM (though people were still calling it dysphoria, obv) and I viewed it as a mental illness. My opinion on it hasn't actually changed.
I suppose you could also argue that it's a symptom rather than its own disorder.
Same, except I was 15-18 and am now 25 (about to turn 26). When I look back, it feels like I was an entirely different person. Shit, I forgot it even happened until I see old pictures. So I definitely relate. Luckily I never went on T, so there are no physical effects of this phase.
Yes. I returned back to my birth name, but it was extremely awkward at first. When I desisted, my mom suggested using my middle name if my first name was too uncomfortable, but I've never really connected with my middle name, so I just used my first name despite the discomfort. After a few months, I got used to it again, but it was definitely very weird at first.
In fact I find that stuff cringe worthy.
I totally understand and feel everything you said, but as someone into cosplay, this made part made me laugh to myself a little and I was wondering why you feel that way. I'm sorry this is totally off-topic of my OP. Is it the hobby in general? Like do you find it childish, or is it the way people act about it, or is it the sexualization of it, or...? No judgment. I was just curious why you feel this way.
The therapist gave me the green light to get consultation from his colleague for hrt. In one session. Do you want to know how long that session lasted? Under and hour. One short session and I was allowed to make a life-altering decision at the age of 15.
I never went through HRT, only socially transitioned, but this happened to me as well. 2010, 15 years old, took maybe 45 minutes to an hour of talking to a therapist before they were asking my mom why she wouldn't allow me to go on testosterone. Luckily, my mom thought they were crazy and never took me back, even though I was pissed about it at the time.
I never went on HRT, luckily, because my mom refused to let me, but I was 15 and the people at Planned Parenthood were ready to start me on T after talking to me for less than an hour and even sat my mom down and asked why she wouldn't let me go on T. (I'm in the US, so not Canadian like a lot of the commenters here it seems. This was also 10 years ago, so not recently.)