It may be wishful thinking, but it feels like after I've realised I was actually male my body seems to have become more male like. I have been getting sore throats and my voice feels deeper. My nose seems to have gotten bigger and my jaw wider. I seem to be producing more and darker hair, even around my nipples and on my back. I even have a few black hairs on my cheeks and a fairly prominent moustache.
Most of this stuff I had before but there just seems to be more of it. I know its probably because I've stopped removing hair so of course I seem more hairy, but I never removed arm hair and my arms are much more hairy any darker, I even have a few on my shoulders.
Also my period seems more irregular, and the one time I've had it since I started presenting male was extreme agony, so painful I even thew up, and I've never had any problems with period pain before.
I know this is most likely just coincidence, but I was just wondering if your body could naturally increase your testosterone levels a little when you realise your male.
Haha...I suppose I deserve that. Was only curious.
Oh good, I'm not going insane - I'd been wondering the same thing! Nothing quite that drastic as face shape changes (wow!) but my face broke out like crazy for a month.
Letting the logic science brain speak for a moment though, I would say that as in all things, correlation does not imply causality. I'm assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere in which case winter's well underway so sore throats aren't that uncommon, and I have no idea if human hair gets a little thicker in winter but it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. If you're anything like me you're probably on a rollercoaster of adrenaline right now (which itself is a hormone, just not specifically a sex/gender-related one) with the new realisation of being trans* which will definitely have an effect on your energy and stress levels - and periods are VERY sensitive to stress, in particular regularity, and intensity of symptoms.
I realise it was most likely a coincide. And they may be changes that would have happened anyway as I'm still probably going through puberty. Was just curious if it could happen.
Yes, it's possible, to a small extent. Lifestyle - primarily things like dietary choices and exercise - can affect T levels, although it makes less difference to trans men than cis men. If you've made any such changes, possibly without realising it, that could be making some difference. Not shaving will obviously make one hairier. And when one is actively looking for things, it's amazing how much went unnoticed before.
Bottom line, though, is does it matter? Hanging on to little things like this can help get one through the rougher parts of waiting for bigger changes. I'm guilty of analysing everything to death, so I understand the urge, but consider trying to just enjoy rather than analyse the extra hair or what-have-you if it makes you more comfortable.
could be subconscious. realizing that your supposed to be a guy is causing you to change things about your daily routine that is affecting you biologically. that and the mind is very powerful and thoughts can do a lot to promote physical changes, limited though they might be.
since i realized what the cause of my depression and anxiety were and came out to myself as trans I have noticed I started taking care of myself more and eating healthier and such. not that i just decided to, but that i realized that it was needed to help with transitioning and it just started happening.
feeling like you are something can help a lot as well, towards actually becoming what it is that you want. positive affirmations, and disallowing negative thoughts seem to help a lot too. as long as i can keep myself thinking that its a possibility and that its something achievable, then i keep picking up the pace faster and faster towards accomplishing what i need.
Quote from: ScottyMac on November 13, 2014, 06:47:16 AM
It may be wishful thinking, but it feels like after I've realised I was actually male my body seems to have become more male like. I have been getting sore throats and my voice feels deeper. My nose seems to have gotten bigger and my jaw wider. I seem to be producing more and darker hair, even around my nipples and on my back. I even have a few black hairs on my cheeks and a fairly prominent moustache.
Most of this stuff I had before but there just seems to be more of it. I know its probably because I've stopped removing hair so of course I seem more hairy, but I never removed arm hair and my arms are much more hairy any darker, I even have a few on my shoulders.
Also my period seems more irregular, and the one time I've had it since I started presenting male was extreme agony, so painful I even thew up, and I've never had any problems with period pain before.
I know this is most likely just coincidence, but I was just wondering if your body could naturally increase your testosterone levels a little when you realise your male.
I'm not sure your body would increase your testosterone level, but I have no doubt that you are changing. The mind does wonderful things. Look at the power of companion animals, which are frequently recommended for older people. Look at the importance of placebos, they're included in medical studies. Meditation, hypnosis, it goes on and on. Enjoy the new you!
Hugs, Devlyn
It could be that since you've accepted being trans you're now just noticing the more masculine attributes that you have but who knows, the mind is a powerful thing.
Before realizing that I was trans I didn't have much body hair and I only ever shaved my underarms and legs but in the past year or two after accepting I was trans I've grown a significant amount of hair on my stomach all the way up to and covering my chest in a male pattern and there's still more coming in. It could be from a number of things though like a change in diet or natural hormone fluctuations but I haven't thought to monitor any of those things so I'll probably never know what caused it or if it actually was caused by the power of my own mind.
*Transition* changes you. OTOH, I have heard this sort of thing before and am extremely skeptical. It's possible to look quite masculine without hormones though.
--Jay
What everyone said, it's probably just a matter of heightened perception.
I doubt you can just will your brain into changing your body, however the brain is pretty poorly understood so.. who knows? Maybe it is possible in some instances.
That said, I know I've been more conscious about my own body since I started questioning my gender, so it might be that. I know I've gotten flatter and more broad shouldered, but I'm sure that's only because I've lost weight and have been working on my upper body for a while. I've been recently told by a person I've met for the first time that I deepen my voice, and since then I've come to notice that I do unconsciously (or I've always thought my voice was higher), but I'm pretty sure I've heard the same comment a year ago.
Something I'm finding interesting, probably just coincidental, is that I seem to be sweating a lot more when I work out now. It always felt like it was just the males that were dripping all over the floor but these days I seem to be sweating all over the floor too. It's probably nothing more than me working out harder/noticing this for the first time. I know I'm probably trying very hard to find any indication of maleness in me these days that I'm bound to catch onto things I've never given second thought to before.
You might just be overanalyzing things like I tend to do these days. Or, you may have coincidentally happened to develop a thyroid problem? It would be awesome if we could just ask our bodies to produce more T, or less estrogen at the least..
Quote from: aleon515 on November 13, 2014, 11:16:44 AM
*Transition* changes you.
--Jay
I'm with my clone brother. It changes perception of oneself
Even though it's probably just your perception, I agree with Hanazono that the mind is very powerful.
I also just wanted to say I experienced something somewhat similar. In my case I chalked it up to heightened perception and an altered mindset, though, not hormones.
Your body is always growing, so especially if you are still at an age where puberty could be affecting you, then it could be hormones after all, but not in relation to you realizing you're trans.