Does anyone else get depressed or even angry about wearing a binder? I've just bought my first underworks one and thought I would be over the moon, but I'm not. To be fair it does exactly what it says on the tin and its probably the flattest I'm ever going to look until i get surgery and when i look in the mirror i just see a guy who looks like he's been bench pressing which is good. But then i realise after an hour that i can't breathe properly, sitting down for any length of time (which is my job) is a nightmare, and i can never forget about it cos i can feel it all the time. Then i really start hating the fact that i'm having to wear a binder and start thinking about home surgery. Can't wait for the day when i can legally walk round the streets topless (aftet a couple of years at the gym) cos it seems doing it this way just reminds me more and more that i haven't got a male body

I know exactly what you mean.

I won't go out without a binder. I'm too insecure/dysmorphic/whatever you want to call it and I've become pretty reliant on it. But I hate binding too. It hurts, and it's a constant reminder.

I think, for me, binding is kind of like a medicine, but not a cure. It relieves the symptoms to some extent, but there are side-effects and it doesn't get rid of the problem. Yet, I still prefer it to not binding at all.

Mine doesn't even get me flat, I still have to wear really baggy/layered clothes over it. It hurts like hell and aggregates my asthma....and half the time I still don't pass. I've started wondering if there's even a point of wearing it at all.

I feel the same, and it doesn't make me flat at all, but I wont stop wearing it till top surgery because it does flatten them a bit and a bit is better then nothing for me....

Yup i hate it, so much so that I have bought my surgery date forward and am paying big interest rates on my loan to get it done. Its way too hot and it doesn't do much for me either, I'm a D cup.

I got used to it really fast. Don't notice it anymore, it's been about a year since I started binding. If I'm sick, I haaaate it cause my back hurts like a mofo during those times. Otherwise, I'm usually fine with it. Then again, I made my own binder, and I believe it's a lot better than those bought/improvised from other materials, so maybe there is a comfort issue.

Quote from: Asher on October 12, 2009, 08:00:56 PM
I got used to it really fast. Don't notice it anymore, it's been about a year since I started binding. If I'm sick, I haaaate it cause my back hurts like a mofo during those times. Otherwise, I'm usually fine with it. Then again, I made my own binder, and I believe it's a lot better than those bought/improvised from other materials, so maybe there is a comfort issue.

I made my own binders for a while too, but I found that the ones I made didn't bind as well. I still use the ones I made when I want a more comfortable binder and don't mind wearing a sweater or something. But if I want to wear a t-shirt... Or anything tighter than a giant hoodie really, I use the one I got from underworks. That one is so uncomfortable though. I don't really -need- to bind that tightly to look male, but it doesn't look flat enough for me and I'm -really- insecure. >_>

Also, nice name Asher. (That's my name too. )

I only wore binder for about 3 or 4 months and knew I would be getting top surgery the whole time so that made it a lot easier to deal with. It only got bother some when it was hot out and I was sweating to death, then I hated the things.
Myles

Wearing a binder for me is better than going without. Ever since I started binding it felt like a necessity. Though it isn't perfect it does the job for now. Of course having no breasts at all would be a much better option, but not feasible any time soon.
But there are downfalls to my binding.
My way of binding sometimes makes it tight and uncomfortable around my arms and when its's hot I sweat up a storm. When that happens I usually get skin irritation or a little bit of acne. Overall I'm used to it, and breathing is only a problem when I am helping my sister move by taking bags and furniture up three flights of stairs in the blazing heat ( recently discovered ).

The binders do tend to stretch out a little after you wear them about 10 times.  Not enough that it doesn't bind you as well, but breathing gets a tad easier.

That said, it still sucks and is really uncomfortable.  However, I used my binder as a safety net.  I was forced to live as a girl for awhile (very complicated) and I would come home at night and put it on after freaking out all day.  Even after I was back to life as a boy, whenever I had really dysphoric times I would go put it on to make myself better.  All this, and I was only an A.

It's love-hate, and the lesser of two evils.

I don't like wearing the binders but there is no way in hell I'm being seen by other people without it. The only reason I don't wear it 24x7 is that I don't want to wear them out as fast.

And so I work on the car in them, I play paintball in them, I race karts in them, I wear them when I have a chest infection...

Top surgery is sadly a while off yet, but oh boy am I looking forward to it!

I conducted a touch of self-experimentation and took the opportunity of having no clean binders, and I put on a bra for two days.
Oh My Gods I LOVE my binder!

Yes, I'm still a bit glum about not being able to go topless, at all, anywhere, ever, because of the chest, but compared to the simple abomination of the chest in a bra (or just "not the binder") the Binder is the most awesome thing ever.

well i'm a d cup so there's no way i pass without the binder; even with it i struggle unless i'm wearing baggy tops cos i end up with a bulky chest that looks like i've been working out but not got the biceps to go with it so it looks a bit strange. Guess if i could just breathe a bit in it it would be ok so i'll carry on wearing it and hope it gives. Or take some advice from one of the other threads and diet like mad in the hopes i get smaller

Don't "diet like mad", change your food and exercise habits for a healthier lifestyle.

And T will make chesticle tissue softer and more bindable.
And I'm a DD, I barely look "normal-ish" with the binder.

And if it restricts your breathing, you might want to at least go without it around the house at home.

Exercise? How do you do that? I've read the books seen the posters agreed that its a good idea, but can't quite bring myself to do it. Which is silly considering that the inner view i have of myself is of a tanned suave bloke with rock hard abs and a sculpted chest!! Talk about an image problem

well, in my case it's the decision to walk (or ride bike) everywhere possible that presents 99.9999999% of my exercise. And the buses here are free

I dont really care if my chest is 100% flat or not they will just look like moobs. It just feels good to know Im taking a step in the right direction

i hate the binder. the couple times i've tried wearing it out in public, i've gotten panic attacks. i have social phobia anyway, and i think the feeling "i dont look like people expect me to" plus physical discomfort makes it ten times worse. at home i like wearing it, though it's incredibly uncomfortable and hurts when i sit down. i've sort of given up wearing it until there comes a time that i need to (social transition maybe) and after i lose weight. it sucks because at night sometimes it's nice to take a walk with it on and just be me

Quote from: Kyle :3 on October 13, 2009, 11:17:23 AM
I dont really care if my chest is 100% flat or not they will just look like moobs. It just feels good to know Im taking a step in the right direction

That's what I keep telling myself. But I go absolutely nuts if it's not 100% F-L-A-T. (If there's anything I'm insecure about, it's my chest.) Which I can never get it down to, so I end up wearing a lot of layers.