Transition Tuesday- Dealing with Gender Dysphoria
Gender Dysphoria is often defined as the experience of emotional distress and/or discomfort when the medical sex you were assigned at birth does not align with your gender identity or expression. Some transgender people experience dysphoria while others report feeling little to none; gender dysphoria can occur regardless of where you are in your life journey. Whenever gender dysphoria settles in like a dark, overhanging cloud you may feel a complete disconnection from yourself.
Here a some tips, tricks & things you can try to reconnect when gender dysphoria wants you to feel at odds with yourself.
Keep a transition journal or log. Keeping a transition log or journal can be a fun way to track progress towards your goals. It can also be a great memento to reflect upon when you need reminding of how far you’ve come and what achievements you have already made thus far. Don’t let gender dysphoria sell yourself short to you.
Make a connection with a quality friend. Reach out to that one friend you can always depend on. Having someone to listen with nonjudgement and acceptance can help eliminate the feeling of “alone-ness”.
Acknowledge the difficult emotions and hold space for them. Treat yourself with self compassion. Instead of rejecting the difficult emotions, acknowledge them and experience them for the moment. By doing so you are able to assess and evaluate these feelings; you may see that gender dysphoria is playing a tape recorder of negative self talk on repeat.
Make a list of things that bring you joy in your life. What makes you smile with your full face? What makes you laugh from the gut? What makes you feel warm and cozy? Loved? List as many things as possible; the simple act of remembering and thinking about happy things has shown to decrease the experience of emotional distress.
Utilize grounding techniques. Grounding is the process of returning your focus and attention back to the present moment. Gender dysphoria can lead to rumination and future-tense living. Being present in the moment can help put things into perspective when everything feels like a mess.
Remember nothing is permanent and this too is temporary. This moment your experiencing is temporary. All things are, including suffering. The brain experiences emotion for 90 seconds. Beyond that it is the mind stirring the waters and preventing the sediments to settle.
Focus on what attributes you find attractive about yourself. Remind yourself of the attributes you do like about yourself. Admire yourself in the mirror, give yourself compliments from the heart, treat yo’ self to a self care day. Avoid speaking negativity to yourself about yourself.
Don’t be afraid to seek professional help. If you find your quality of life and daily functioning severely impaired due to gender dysphoria, it may be time to seek help from a mental health provider trained in transgender issues. Doing so can put you in contact with a professional who can provide further techniques and tools to cope with the emotional distress gender dysphoria can cause.
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