Hi, hope this topic hasn't been done to death, but I'm interested in how some people say taking hormones felt like a cloud lifting, like they felt more alive and emotionally well, like their brain was now running on the right chemicals . How many people found that to be the case, and is it also possible it's partly 'just' psychological, in the sense of relief at finally taking this big step to do something about your dysphoria.

For me it was a huge mental improvement and it was near instantaneous.  I don't know if it was psychological or physiological or some combination of the two.  It really doesn't matter though because it worked.


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  great, thanks, that's cool

I haven't had any huge psychological effects yet. I don't anger as easily (I had a hair trigger temper), and when I do it's not the same - I used to have a kind of pressure in my head when I was really angry, but that's gone now.

Quote from: Liv_J on August 23, 2017, 05:39:39 PM
How many people found that to be the case, and is it also possible it's partly 'just' psychological, in the sense of relief at finally taking this big step to do something about your dysphoria.

I've come to think it has a great deal to do with your frame of mind upon starting hormones. Because of my medical history, I was skeptical that I would ever be on HT and had resigned myself to that. Nevertheless, I went ahead with a RLE and had experienced that for about two years along with about six years of low dosage spiro. Even though I thought I had set my expectations low, based on feedback that I got from sites like this one, I expected at least some "mental" changes. I didn't get any. So, I'm not sure there are any physiologically induced "mental" changes. YMMV

Aren't "mental" changes, almost by definition, all in your mind anyway?

--AshleyP

I think my experience was a combination of both Anti-Androgen and Estrogen combined with the first real therapy I have ever done.

I did feel a little less gauzy(like you are describing walking through fog, clouds, cotton). +1 on the drop of anger. Able to see more positive sides. Able to be happier. I always felt like my body was a puppet being controlled from within, I feel more immediate now. I can feel things now. As I said, I don't know if it is a lack of T, gain of E or just good therapy but I had shut myself off for years.

I started to feel emotions and can now cry. On the down side, I did not feel so much before so when I got depressed, I just shuffled through. Now, if I am not careful, my depressions can plummet lower than ever.

My SO says I am so much more pleasant to be around. I can be fun now.

Not sure if that is what you are looking for but for what it's worth.

With warmth,

Jacqui

Yes, it's the kind of thing I wanted to know, thanks

Quote from: Liv_J on August 23, 2017, 05:39:39 PM
Hi, hope this topic hasn't been done to death, but I'm interested in how some people say taking hormones felt like a cloud lifting, like they felt more alive and emotionally well, like their brain was now running on the right chemicals . How many people found that to be the case, and is it also possible it's partly 'just' psychological, in the sense of relief at finally taking this big step to do something about your dysphoria.

I felt it exactly how you phrase it, and it happened pretty fast (within weeks) as I was first taking only a low dose of spironolactone, then added estradiol. Within 2-3 months, my mindset was totally changed. I used to be dark, for all my life, I haven't been since, or so little, I'm just happy.

It's got nothing to do with psychology, it's biochemical. I can't believe how everyone, all the society, medical staff, researchers and all, neglect the power of the three main sexual hormones and their derivatives. We're all driven by them, our mindset, our needs and dreams, our ways, our gesture, everything, who we are and all.

most probably I felt it all much more rapidly than others, I react very swiftly to all that I take, in general, but especially in my HRT, maybe I have a genetic twist of some kind.

I'm the same person I used to be, only I was like an unlit lamp before, and brightly glowing now. The right fuel, exactly.

Yay, that's great 

Only effect I can ever recall over the past 10 years, is a bout of insomnia that lasted a couple months back in 2008.
Once in awhile I get a bit irritable....or so my hubby says. I call it my time of the month lol.

A bit more calm. That's it. Already felt like I had a female brain and psychology before HRT.

I pretty much had euphoria within hours of taking my pills for HRT but I am pretty sure most of that is psychological. It was such a huge step to take in my transition and just about every step brings back some of that euphoria. My emotions have not changed too much except that I don't get angry as much but I don't cry as much as some people have mentioned. The big thing for me is that my empathy is through the roof. Other people's moods really influence my own and if someone is crying because they are happy or sad then it is almost guaranteed that I will cry too.

Quote from: missmolly on August 24, 2017, 02:32:14 PM
A bit more calm. That's it. Already felt like I had a female brain and psychology before HRT.

That's the way I felt too.  Also I add that it feels like someone turned off the static TV in the background.

I agree with RobynTx, but I also had significant reductions in anger and anxiety. 

For me there was certainly the removal of "brain fog."  Thought is clearer and faster now, that part is pretty neat.  Beyond that, there's far less anxiety, much more happiness, and I'm not mopey all the time.  It actually made my temper a little bit shorter, but I was very slow to anger to begin with.

When I started hrt it really improved my mood and temperament. Before hrt the smallest things would really annoy me and I was in a bad mood a lot of the time. My dad and brother have both told me I'm much sweeter now than before I transitioned.  Once when my dad said that to me I asked him if I was really that bad. He said he didn't think I realized just how mean I was. If I was really mean I'm sure it was an effect of testosterone.  I say that because I'm not a mean person by nature. I swear.
Julia

I'm not an ass hole all the time anymore.  I feel much better as a default mood on estrogen.

Massive improvement and lifting of that cloud. Problems with anxiety completely gone.