Another question. My therapist said something today about HRT making TGs "feel good and tranquil" about themselves, but I failed to ask whether it was a physical effect of the HRT or an emotional effect (as in "this feels like how I should feel"). Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
Thanks!
Jane
Sorry it doesn't answer your question, but sign me up!
My guess is that the wrong tendered hormones react with the tendered part of your brain. Fixing the hormones fixes that part of the problem.
Seriously, just my best guess.
Sorry about the wacky sig line. I think I fixed it.
Jane
Estrogen gives me a feeling of calmness and being right with the world.
As I went through male puberty testosterone made me nervous, hyper-alert and uncomfortable. I had a deep and pervasive sense of un-ease. I felt that danger was all around me, and I needed to be on the lookout for problems. This, in turn, made me a person that was difficult to be around. It seemed I was always striving for something that was un-attainable.
Estrogen definitely affects the brain and emotions. With me it caused a bit of "Gender Euphoria".
Getting things "right" after many years was an amazing experience for me.
The brain, which is the seat of emotions, is biochemical. The brain-body dichotomy is an illusion.
If you change the chemistry of the brain you change many things.
Randi
Quote from: JaneNicole2013 on September 03, 2013, 05:58:08 PM
Another question. My therapist said something today about HRT making TGs "feel good and tranquil" about themselves, but I failed to ask whether it was a physical effect of the HRT or an emotional effect (as in "this feels like how I should feel"). Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
Thanks!
Jane
I'm only at 1.5 months on E, but personally I didn't feel any mentally different until I noticed the first physical effects. I noticed one day my hands felt much softer which took around 2.5 weeks.
Until I noticed that I wouldn't of known I was on them if someone was secretly giving them to me. Of course once I noticed them actually working I felt a lot better. Pretty much I'm excited and just happy that it's working.
I've also had a lot of people tell me how they got overly emotional ( crying over happy things...etc. ) and such, but I haven't experienced any of that. Personality wise I'm a goofball and prone to be darkly sarcastic. I'll also admit I rarely get deeply "touched" by anything sappy or sad. I don't cry at sappy or cute things.That aspect of my personality hasn't changed one bit.
Overall, mentally emotionally speaking, I feel the same. Just a lot happier now watching change slowly occur. Change leading to a goal as well.
I feel fantastic:
a tension has left my chest,
I can make a decision without pondering it for ever,
my mind is lifted from a fog,
I am calm.
I have been on E for 82 days an I feel fantastic having the right hormones I am a lot happier an outgoing totally awesome !!
HRT is more than feeling good for me it is feeling right. My feeling of calmness and serenity are a major contrast to my former male sense of urgency and drive. The feeling sense was subtle at first but eventually became euphoria and now at 5+ months the reality of being this free is just incredible. I love and enjoy every day and feel a contentment and genuine happiness like never before.
I'm two weeks in now with estrogen and I can tell you that initially there was a huge calming a euphoric effect for me. But this was just a sort of settling in phase. Now I'm calmer every day but I attribute that to having less testosterone to make me anxious and aggressive.
I've been much happier since being on estrogen and people notice it. Also it is calming because you lose all that angst and aggression that comes with testosterone.
I can tell you that coming off estrogen (which I had to do for surgery) was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. I felt HORRIBLE! It actually made me want SRS even more so I never have to feel the flood of testosterone again.
since starting HRT i've become far more emotionally unstable, outwardly insecure, fragile, i've started to have pains i never noticed before, and i've started having anxiety attacks, which is new to me.
having said all that, i finally feel right, and comfortable in who i am. i'm "supposed" to be more emotional and fragile [for want of a better terminology], and i imagine the insecurities and anxieties will fade as being in public becomes less dangerous...
i guess, like everything, there are pros and cons which will no doubt be different for every single one of us, and it has definitely been a necessary and rewarding experience, though i doubt 'tranquil' will ever be a word i could apply to myself or my experiences.
sorry for the yes/no/maybe, but.... real talk yo
?
E is a wonderful thing.
For the first 5 months of HRT, my T was all over the place, and so was my mood. I could feel the distinct effects of T on me as it fell and rose many times. Put simply, it put a 'fog' on my mind and reduced everything to being basically un-enjoyable / annoying. But the E did make things bearable most of the time except for when T peaked. Really just demonstrates that my brain doesn't function on T.
For the last month and a bit, there's been very very little T. I've felt utterly fantastic. Best month of life so far :)
Estradiol has a tendency to rewire your brain to allow for more dopamine receptors in the brain.
That said, every time I take a shot I feel more relaxed within about a minute.
Estrogen can begin to act on the brain in moments.
I'm about two weeks on estrogen and t-blockers and I don't really feel that tranquil yet. More snappish yes, but not more tranquil. I am dealing with a lot of stress (good stress) at work (we are one of the companies entering the Health Insurance Marketplace on Oct 1) and dealing with the reality of the changes and what it means to my life now that I've begun. Feel like I have feet planted in two worlds.
Quote from: Randi on September 03, 2013, 07:30:56 PM
Estrogen gives me a feeling of calmness and being right with the world.
As I went through male puberty testosterone made me nervous, hyper-alert and uncomfortable. I had a deep and pervasive sense of un-ease. I felt that danger was all around me, and I needed to be on the lookout for problems. This, in turn, made me a person that was difficult to be around. It seemed I was always striving for something that was un-attainable.
Estrogen definitely affects the brain and emotions. With me it caused a bit of "Gender Euphoria".
Getting things "right" after many years was an amazing experience for me.
The brain, which is the seat of emotions, is biochemical. The brain-body dichotomy is an illusion.
If you change the chemistry of the brain you change many things.
Randi
Right on Randi, I'll second what you have said!
Quote from: Alainaluvsu on September 27, 2013, 11:24:40 PM
Estradiol has a tendency to rewire your brain to allow for more dopamine receptors in the brain.
That said, every time I take a shot I feel more relaxed within about a minute.
Oooh, that makes sense with how I feel really euphoric when I daydream really bad about the guy I'm in love with. I've never been high with actual drugs, but I'm convinced I know roughly how it feels now, haha.