Before I really dive into therapy again, I wanted to ask exactly what it is that therapists (and other gatekeepers) actually look for or require you to do when determining if you should receive hormone therapy or not. (I don't want to sound like I'm planning to be dishonest in order to "game the system," which I'm certainly not going to do, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase that.) I'm feeling more and more like I should transition, but I'm worried that since I didn't have blatant dysphoria going back to my childhood, I won't "qualify." I don't have a stereotypical history of sneaking off to wear girls' clothing or anything, I didn't always "know I was really a girl." There's plenty of stuff I can look back on now and think that gender dysphoria may have had something to do with it, but it's nothing I thought of in any gender context at the time. I've also heard that you have to transition full-time before receiving HRT, but I've also heard of people not transitioning at all before receiving it, so I'm not sure what's up with that, either.
So, just how stringent or picky are therapists and other gatekeepers in whether they'll prescribe HRT or not? Do you have to already exhibit a lot of female mannerisms and appearance first? Is there a certain narrative you have to fit? Can you feel very certain that you want to transition for several months, but then tell your therapist something about yourself that makes them go "No, no, you're definitely not transgender and shouldn't transition, here's what you need to do instead"? I live in the U.S, I'm sure it's different depending on what country you're from.
