I was a young boy who got pulled into online transgender communities that convinced me my feelings meant I was a girl. I was really just a depressed kid with trauma, and I thought transitioning would be an escape from my problems. I socially transitioned for two years, but my mental health became worse than ever, filled with self-harm and suicidal thoughts. I detransitioned at 13, and while I still struggle, I'm in a much better place now. I'm learning to accept myself as a feminine man, but I live with the lasting physical damage from the puberty blockers I was given.

I started socially transitioning at 14 and was on testosterone by 15, believing it would fix my depression and OCD. My doctors and therapists rushed me through, assuring my mom and me it was the only path, without ever addressing my underlying mental health. I had top surgery at 17 and was immediately crushed by regret, realizing I had destroyed my natural female body. I am now filled with anger at the medical professionals who failed me and am struggling to accept my irreversible changes. I'm trying to move forward with voice training and new medication, but at 17, I feel my life was stolen before it began.

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.

I was a huge tomboy as a kid and even told people my name was Bob, but my parents thankfully didn't make a big deal out of it. As a teenager, I saw many girls my age identifying as male, and I started researching transition, but the reality of the surgeries horrified me. I realized I had to stop feeding those obsessive thoughts and learn to accept myself as a masculine woman. Now I understand my discomfort was never about being the wrong sex, but about not fitting a feminine stereotype. I'm just living my life normally now, and I'm grateful every day that I never made any permanent changes.

I started feeling dysphoria as a young kid because I was a tomboy and people constantly pointed out that I wasn't a "proper" girl. I socially transitioned to male for five years, thinking it was the only way to be accepted. I realized later that a lot of my feelings were tied to internalized homophobia and the sexual aspect of my "gender euphoria," not a true male identity. I never medically transitioned, and I now understand my journey was about escaping stereotypes, not being born in the wrong body. Today, I am a happy, masculine woman who has found peace by rejecting gender labels and addressing the real roots of my discomfort.

I started my transition as a young child and had surgery to become female by the time I was twenty. Now, I deeply regret it and feel like I mutilated my own body. I want to detransition back to male, but my family refuses to see me that way and I'm terrified of more surgeries. I feel completely lost and stuck in a body that doesn't feel like my own. My entire journey has left me wondering who I really am.

I'm a female who has felt a disconnect from my body and a desire to be male since I was young, but I've never felt a rush to medically transition. A history of childhood trauma and a strong family history of serious hormone imbalances have made me very cautious. I'm taking a logical approach, so I plan to freeze my eggs and wait at least ten years in a social transition before considering hormones. I'd rather be sure than make a permanent decision for my future self now. My only regret is how difficult it is to have open conversations about the complex reasons behind these feelings.

My gender confusion started when I was 14, and I was completely convinced I was a boy for two years. I'm so thankful that medical intervention wasn't available to me as a teenager, because I now see my dysphoria was a symptom of trauma and internalized misogyny, not a need to be male. The therapy that saved me wasn't affirming; instead, it helped me uncover the real reasons I hated my body. Now, fifteen years later, I am a happy and confident woman who sees that my discomfort was about escaping the difficulties of being female. I believe we need to help young people understand the root of their pain instead of rushing them toward permanent medical changes.

I was a young girl who started medically transitioning at 13 because I was deeply uncomfortable with my body and struggling with depression. My medical care felt rushed, and I had top surgery and took testosterone before I could truly understand the consequences. After stopping hormones at 16, some of my body changed back, but I’m left with permanent alterations and concerns about my health. I’m now exploring legal options and seeking better therapy to deal with my regrets. I’ve learned that my transition was a misguided solution to problems that weren't really about my gender.

I'm from London, and my discomfort started as a teenager when I hated the development of my female body. I was quickly diagnosed as transgender and rushed onto testosterone and surgery, even though I had other serious mental health issues that needed care first. I don't regret my mastectomy itself, but I deeply regret the rushed reason for it and that no one helped me explore my feelings. I've since learned through proper therapy that my desire to transition was a way to escape from my other conditions, including autism and OCD. I'm now left with permanent infertility and surgical complications, a constant reminder of a path I was too vulnerable to take.