doesn't regret transitioning Detransition Stories & Timelines
Browse through 171 unique detransition stories and timelines of people who haved shared their experiences in the /r/detrans subreddit, which is the largest open collection of detransition stories and experiences on the internet!
These stories have been summarised with the help of AI.
/u/ComparisonSoft2847
I started as a teenager who was deeply uncomfortable with my developing female body and jealous of the freedom boys had. I thought becoming a man was the only way to be a valid, masculine person attracted to women. After being approved for testosterone, I got scared of the health risks and the performative role I felt I'd have to play. I fell into a long depression, but through therapy, I realized my struggle was with internalized homophobia and misogyny, not my sex. Now, I'm a happily married lesbian, finally comfortable as a masculine woman, and I regret the years I lost to that confusion.
/u/RulerTheLion
I was born female and started identifying as a trans man as a teenager, taking testosterone for two years. I now believe my discomfort was more about body dysmorphia and social influence than being the wrong sex, so I've stopped hormones to medically detransition. I don't regret my journey, as it was a necessary step for me to learn that identity isn't fixed. Currently, I'm working with a therapist and living socially as a man while I explore what I truly want without any pressure. I'm focusing on getting to know myself beyond labels and making choices I won't regret later.
/u/Sonderosity
I started transitioning in my early twenties, believing testosterone was the answer to my deep unhappiness and depression. For several years, I felt more confident, but I eventually realized I was using it as a workaround for trauma and self-hatred instead of healing. I stopped hormones a couple of years ago, and the process was physically and emotionally difficult. I'm now living as a woman again and dealing with permanent changes like a deeper voice. My journey taught me that true peace comes from self-acceptance, not from changing my body.
/u/NeverCrumbling
I was born male and felt a deep discomfort with my body and social expectations from a very young age. My dysphoria was rooted in my autism and a deep sense of not fitting in, which I later confused with a fetish I developed from online pornography. I realized in my early twenties that my desire to be a woman was a coping mechanism, not an identity. Through years of self-reflection, mindfulness, and rejecting those fantasies, I overcame the dysphoria. I am now at peace as a male and profoundly grateful I never medically transitioned.
/u/Kirikizande
I'm a woman who, during the 2020 lockdown, started having intense thoughts about not being female after some online friends came out. My questioning wasn't about my body, but was really a way to escape my loneliness and fear of growing up. I decided to focus on my real problems through therapy and by leaving toxic online spaces, and the thoughts slowly went away. Now I'm comfortable being a woman and understand that my personal struggles had nothing to do with my gender. I feel like I grew up by facing my issues head-on instead of trying to become someone else.
/u/NeurologyDivergent
I was born female and felt pressured to transition after joining an activist group in college, but it never felt right. My body dysphoria was intense, but I realized it was rooted in society's narrow expectations for women, not my actual female body. I overcame it by reframing my thoughts through exercise and mental tricks, learning to appreciate my form instead of fighting it. I never medically transitioned and am so glad I didn't. I'm now a confident woman who defines femininity for myself, finding true freedom in self-acceptance.
/u/HazyInBlue
I felt like a boy from a very young age, and my body felt so wrong it caused me crippling physical pain, made worse by my abusive mother's attempts to suppress me. I fought for and started testosterone at 17, living as a man for 14 years, which saved my life and allowed me to finally feel at home in my body. Last year, a profound spiritual experience completely shattered my male identity, and for the first time, I began to feel like a woman, leading me to detransition. While this feels like a liberation from a lifelong struggle, I now grieve the youth I lost and my infertility from surgeries I had. I see my transition as a necessary survival tool for that time, and my healing came from finally working with, not against, the body I was born with.
/u/Dissposabletag
I was born male and felt a deep discomfort with it from a very young age, so I transitioned at seventeen, which finally made me comfortable in my own body. I detransitioned a few years later for reasons I now see as foolish, and it was a huge mistake that caused my dysphoria to come back worse than ever. My body had masculinized further, leaving me with permanent changes that make me miserable every day. I now believe my need to transition was valid and that detransitioning left me in a much worse place both physically and mentally. I'm trying to build a new life now, but I'm stuck with severe regret over losing so much time and the irreversible changes.
/u/KayWhyJ
I was born male and spent years feeling like I didn't fit in because of my feminine interests. I explored identifying as a woman and even started low-dose hormones, which quieted my obsessive thoughts. Ultimately, my Christian faith and my family made me realize a full transition wasn't right for me. I've learned that I'm just a feminine man, and that's perfectly okay. I'm now at peace accepting myself outside of any labels.
/u/Banaanisade
I was born female and started identifying as trans at 18, beginning testosterone two years later. While the hormones helped my dysphoria at first, they severely worsened my mental and physical health, so I had to stop after four years. I was denied top surgery, which was devastating and made me feel trapped for a long time. Now, years after detransitioning, I've found peace as a gender non-conforming woman and no longer worry about how others see me. I don't regret my transition, but I had to stop because it was hurting me, and I'm finally living authentically.
/u/CarsonContinues
I was born female and spent years feeling a deep, physical wrongness with my body that I couldn't explain. I finally understood it as a form of gender dysphoria in my thirties and decided to have top surgery, which completely relieved my distress. I also tried testosterone but stopped because the mental changes weren't right for me, though my deeper voice remained. Now, I live happily as a woman with a flat chest, and I have no regrets about the path I took for my well-being. My journey taught me that solving physical discomfort is a personal choice, not about fitting into a specific label.
/u/lurker_number_69
I was a total tomboy as a kid and felt like one of the guys, but puberty hit me hard and I hated my developing female body. I was convinced my pain was gender dysphoria and that I must be a trans man. I later realized my feelings came from the physical agony of endometriosis, trauma, and the belief that being a woman meant being less. I never medically transitioned, and I'm grateful I questioned that path. Now I'm at peace as a woman who just doesn't fit stereotypes, and I've made friends with the body I once saw as my enemy.
/u/ccnnvaweueurf
I was born male and my deep discomfort started from a traumatic childhood, which made me hate the masculinity I associated with my abuser. Online communities told me my feelings meant I was transgender, and for a while I believed them. Trauma therapy helped me realize my dysphoria was actually a response to that past abuse, not an innate identity. I never medically transitioned and I'm now grateful, as it would have covered up the real issues. Today, I'm comfortable in my own skin, living a simple life and understanding my true self.
/u/marshpie
I felt like a boy trapped in a girl's body from a very young age, and discovering the trans community online as a teenager made me believe that medically transitioning was my only solution. I lived as a man for eight years but was always terrified of the permanent changes and potential complications from surgery and hormones. A turning point came when I wore a dress to a wedding and realized my fear was mostly in my head, and I also realized I deeply wanted to have children someday. I now understand my discomfort wasn't with my body itself, but was rooted in internalized misogyny and the pressure to fit a feminine stereotype. I am a masculine lesbian woman who is finally learning to separate my interests from my identity and make peace with being female.
/u/darthemofan
I was born male and transitioned because I hated my body, not because of an inner gender identity. I had surgeries and took hormones so I could pass as female and just blend in without standing out. Discovering gender-critical ideas was a huge relief, as it helped me see that my body is just a body and doesn't need to define me. I now consider myself a gender abolitionist and sometimes dress in a suit and tie just to reject all the rules. While I have some regrets about the medical process and feeling isolated, I don't regret my journey because it ultimately led me to a place of much greater personal freedom.
/u/echo_prie
I started feeling like I should have been a girl when I was a teenager, and that dysphoria stayed with me for over a decade. I almost medically transitioned because online spaces made it seem like the only answer to my deep depression. I was saved by a friend who pushed me to work on my mental health and build better habits instead. By focusing on self-improvement and tackling my real issues, my dysphoria completely faded away. I'm now a happy, feminine man and I have no desire to change my body anymore.
/u/c-andle-s
I'm a woman who started identifying as gender-fluid in my early twenties because my friend group pressured me to believe my tomboy interests meant I wasn't female. I even tried binding to fit in, but it felt wrong and I saw how the ideology was deeply misogynistic. I lost all my friends for questioning it and realized my voice as a woman was being erased. I never took hormones, and my detransition was just me stopping the act and accepting myself. I'm now a confident woman who knows my personality doesn't change my sex, and I regret ever buying into such a harmful ideology.
/u/ZealousidealEmploy69
I'm a masculine woman who always wished I had been born male, mostly because I hated my female body. I almost transitioned after being influenced online, but I realized I was terrified of the actual physical changes testosterone would bring. I understood I was chasing an impossible ideal of a man, not a realistic outcome for me. Now, I've found peace by getting physically stronger and accepting myself as a woman who doesn't conform to stereotypes. My dysphoria is rare now, and I see gender as just social stereotypes we should reject.
/u/NervousThrowAwayAc
I thought I was a boy from my earliest memories and lived as a man for over a decade after starting testosterone and having top surgery. My desire to transition came from a deep discomfort with my body and a need to escape society's expectations for women, which felt unsafe and sexualized. After many years, my dysphoria vanished and I realized I was content being female, understanding I could just be a masculine woman. I stopped testosterone and now see my journey was a way to feel strong and safe enough to finally embrace my true self. I am now a gender non-conforming woman, undoing some of the permanent changes from testosterone while cherishing the peace my surgery brought me.
/u/Kelekona
I was born female and my discomfort started with the changes of puberty and the overwhelming pressure to act like a woman. As an autistic person, I found it easier to reject femininity entirely, and I found comfort in wearing men's clothes and rejecting beauty standards like shaving. For a while, I wondered if I was trans, but I realized I could just be a masculine woman. I’m now at a point where I’ve made peace with my body by stopping my periods and living as a gender non-conforming person. I’m happier now, understanding that my struggle was with society's expectations, not with being female.