Transitions overall effects on the brain?

[Caitlin]

So I am just curious what the overall effect that transitioning has had on your brain?  I see a lot of comments on HRT's  positive impact on depression and anxiety.  I see others say that say that  they feel a sense of calm and well being as they transition.  I am definitely welcoming comments on that.   

However what I am really wondering about is the function of the brain?  Decision making, organization, focus, confidence?  I know that these can be impacted by depression but I wonder how many feel that the wrong hormones can effect the mind and not just our attitude about our bodies, thus leading to depression, etc?  I have really started to realize the impact that Testosterone has had on my feminine mind.  I guess that this is the old trapped in the wrong body feeling.

I came out to my sister about 10 days ago and this has done a few things for me.  I am starting to gain confidence in who I am.  I feel like that I am starting to let go of my male self and really feel the "trapped in the wrong body feeling" that has prevented me from transitioning.  I feel a bit lighter and a little less confused than I can remember.  This might be wishful thinking but I feel that I am gaining better functioning of my brain now.  Hoping that this continues.

Caitlin Nicole

[Cindy]

Hormonal balances can have effects on brain function including decision making, besides fairly obvious emotion differences. None of these should be detrimental. Males and females are equally capable at higher brain function but they may process information and use the information in decision making in different ways. People with high testosterone levels can be more impulsive in decision making and are more prone to risk taking behaviour. This is of course a generalisation. In general people with low T levels and higher E levels can be more emotional and will use information to think through a decision rather than be impulsive and risk taking.

There appear to be memory differences in that females tend to have better long term recall and males tend to have better instant recall. Again a generalisation.

I work as  a high level Academic and was warned that going on HRT may affect my professional brain function until I got used to my new hormonal balance. To be honest I think my ability to concentrate has improved and I don't think I'm any slower in 'under pressure' decision making.

Then again proving cause and effect in this situation is virtually impossible, as I am far happier and relaxed than I ever was before.

The one comment from my professional colleagues about my work practices is that I'm happy and they are so glad to note me as a happy person.

And that is GOOD

Hugs

Cindy

[Carlita]

Also, coping with dysphoria and trying to work out how to deal with it takes up and enormous amount of mental energy. I'm sure that half the feeling of calm that HRT brings must simply be the relief at having made the decision and getting on with the rest of ones life.

[Kadri]

For about six months I thought hormones were making me stupid (but attractive!), and I felt that all my learning and concentrating abilities were disappearing. A friend left a comment on the blog post I made about it, that it probably had more to do with the constant thinking about how to act, talk, pass, and live full time that took up a lot of unconscious brain space. That actually made a lot of sense.

I felt unable to do a lot of things I could do before, but I felt I had been using them to hide away from the world anyway. If you have a 1,000 page novel to read in old Chinese, it can do as good a job for months as alcohol or drugs for keeping your mind off the questions "why can I not have proper intimacy?" and "Why do I feel so strange when i look at women and their clothes?"

A year after full time many of my interests came back and concentration is almost back at normal levels. Erudition is no longer needed in my life as a diversion, and i can enjoy clothes and hairstyles and all of the other things I used to avoid looking at.

In the end transition has just made me feel normal and balanced, SRS even more so.