Hand Dysphoria Makes Me Physically Sick

[devon14]

Hey all,

Dealing with some dysphoria that is bringing me down and making me feel physically Ill. I've been changing in amazing ways, especially for only 6 months but one thing that mostly stays the same is my hands. My hands don't cause as huge of a concern as they once did but they still on occasion cause me great distress like today... I just don't know what to do, I feel like I have giant meat claws....





What I'm experiencing reminds me of this comic:

[crowcrow223]

Seriously, your hands look so alright it really reinforces to me the fact that it's all in our head, not bodies.

You're super pretty, soft and feminine, I am just hoping you can look past your insecurities:)

What may help is getting your nails done fairly long, into a claw shape, quite hard to live with them, but will make your hands look slimmer, longer, and prettier:) love good nailz lol

[Ms Grace]

To be honest your hand looks great to me. I started to notice some real changes with my hands around the 9-12 month mark and I was already happy enough with my hands. So don't give up yet. And mybe best to give the dysphoria affirming comics a miss for a while...

[Jo-is-amazing]

That comic...
Seriously it makes me cry every time I read it
I also suffer from hand dysphoria and considering they're in view 24/7 its really hard to get away from.
Yours don't look too bad though.
Actually kinda pretty to be honest
Second the big nails though btw

[Foxglove]

Dear Athena,

I know well what you're saying.  I look at myself and I have all kinds of flaws.  No need to list them all, but here's one example.  Very thin lips.  A woman (i.e., a REAL WOMAN) has thick lips, right?  I mean, look at Angelina Jolie's lips.  How can you be a REAL WOMAN if you don't have lips like hers?

Well, you can.  I was in a pub once, and there were some young women there for a hen party.  One of them was a gorgeous young redhead, and didn't I feel envious, since I'm a redhead myself.  So, as you can imagine, I was looking her over (discreetly, from a distance), and what did I notice?  THIN LIPS!!!!!  Oh, my God!!!! She can't be a REAL WOMAN!  She's got thin lips!

Except that she was of course a real woman.  Look at real women carefully, and you'll be hard pressed to find a one of them who doesn't have some sort of flaw, something that a REAL WOMAN isn't supposed to have.

So I don't like my flaws any better than you like yours, any better than any woman likes hers.  But we all, trans or cis, have them, and we have to live with them.  And they don't invalidate us as women, you know.

[Julia-Madrid]

Look at real women carefully, and you'll be hard pressed to find a one of them who doesn't have some sort of flaw, something that a REAL WOMAN isn't supposed to have.

Absolutely!!  I have a girlfriend who's all curves.  I envy her femininity. My bones make me straight up-and-down; I'll never have curves.  Yet I can fit into many dresses that my friend wishes she could wear.

In other words, Athena, your hands are perfectly fine, firstly because they're part of you and secondly because your photo shows this to be the case.     

Julia

[devon14]

Thank you all for your supportive words!

I took all of your compliments and it helps me see my hands in a different way.

Thank's again everyone!


Hugs,

Athena

[Bols]

Athena,

I not only love your adorable hands, but your lovely name!

Hugging you in honest solidarity.

Evelyn