Personality change on HRT?

[LunaDarling]

Hola yall! so i guess its time for my every once in awhile question for the board. im sure this has been addressed before, but im not gonna dig for it. this time im curious about psychological changes and personality change once starting HRT. anyone notice a change in leadership skills and assertiveness? abilities surrounding typically male skilled activities? like.... men are typically better at math and woman at english. do these mental changes take place? sociability? temper? passivity? ive heard many times that E makes you emotional, but what does that mean? what kind of emotions? does it just widen the spectrum of emotions? what male traits diminish over HRT? see im starting E in october and some of my family, friend and personal concerns are surrounding the idea that the person i am will never be the same and in a sense my male form will be mourned. some insight would be greatly appreciated. Much Love!!

[stefan37]

Your main personality characteristics will like remain the same. You brain chemistry will be altered and you may notice subtle changes. Your view on your sexuality my change in time. You may become more emotional in that when you get sad or happy tears may flow easier. Your genitals will shrink and may become inoperative in that obtaining or maintaining an erection is difficult or impossible. your ejaculate will most likely at some point be nonexistent. You will lose boatloads of muscle mass and strength. In the end it comes down to how much are you willing to give up to allow your inner self to take control and become the person you want to be. The physical changes you have no control over. You can not pick and choose which male traits you keep and those you do not. Personality wise you can allow yourself to grow as woman or continue to wage the internal struggle and try to maintain your malesness. When it comes to family and friends we sometimes want to remain close, try to bury some of the changes we experience and acquiesce. This usually leads to more internal conflict and distress. Your male form will hopefully disappear along with the male traits you have learned over the period of your life. You will be mourned as you change into a different person. You may not notice so much or think you are changing but those close to you will notice a change and their reactions are unpredictable.

[Melisamy]

I am not and have not been on HRT, but I have had many friends and clients go through it. In every case but one I have seen, the person on HRT has changed psychologically. I have seen a general mellowing, and a change in basic outlook on life. I will give 3 quick examples; First a business partner went from a real ass/go getter to a nurturing care giver. As Kevin he would close a deal and not give a shit who he hurt so long as he was a success. As Kelly she cared more about dinner on the table and keep things smooth at home. Second Keith a close friend and later business partner, went from one of the most driven motor cycle mechanic to a guy who gave up everything for his daughter. 3rd (the one that did not change) I knew always as Amber, she was a mean guy and turned into a nasty bitch of a girl.

While this small sample does not give the final answer, it shows what I have seen. I own TG Miss, and quite a few girls have started out their transition at my salon or visited during the early goings. By far the changes of HRT in 99% of them has been dramatic. I would not say the changes are for the worse in any way, but they have always been a calming and toning down in over all personalities.

Melisa Amy Ellis

[Inna]

Imagine Apple machine running on windows software, then at one point a new Apple software is introduced. Such is the best analogy although extremely simplified. The latest scientific knowledge points to brain rewiring of neuro-connections after introduction of a "NEW SOFTWARE", a hormonal shift.
Hormone replacement is simply such new software, it tells the cell what it wants it to do, such as it regulates its metabolic state. Hence a fat redistribution, thinning bone, muscle loss.
With cognitive rewiring, the new essence of being emerges.

[Shapeshiffter]

From my point of view. {2 1/2 years on hrt} everything changed for the better. Nicer person. More open. I cry at the drop of a hat. I love it. And so do the people I work with. I was a real as--ole.

[groove67]

I will say it has just brought out into the open all my feelings i have felt for years. I am calm, content and very at peace with whom i am. It has been nothing but 100% positive for me, as i am becoming whom i have felt i was most of my life. I look at it that i do not have to pretend to be a man anymore as i am becoming the woman i always felt i was.

[arbon]

ive heard many times that E makes you emotional, but what does that mean? what kind of emotions? does it just widen the spectrum of emotions

Its like you experience emotions more intensely.

A lot changes, some doesn't. The changes come slowly, they are subtle over time it seems.

I wish they made me smarter lol. Nope. I actually feel that they have decreased some of my ability to concentrate some - like I used to be able to devour books but now I struggle more with reading for any length of time. It could just be age to, I don't know.

Calmer yes. Less aggressive. More comfortable around people yes - I don't know if that is hormones's or that because I feel more a at peace with myself from not having to try to being a guy.

Lots of positive changes.

But a lot of things are still the same to, mostly still have all the strengths and weaknesses I had before.

[KellyJameson]

The temperament you were born with will stay or re emerge if it has been denied.

"You" does not "disappear"

Think of a black and white picture that is now shown in color. Same picture but different colors.

Leadership and assertiveness belongs to both sexes but there are subtle differences in how they are expressed and carried out.

You can lead from inside which is more likely how a woman leads or from the outside which is more typical how a man leads.

In general men and women related to "humanity" differently. The energy they carry is different.

Males are territorial and think in terms of "power displayed and experienced by ownership"

They have a different relationship to physical space than females do. Males like to take up space and this is instinctive.

Males and females compete differently and for different reasons as well.

A male is more likely to compete to assert dominance similar to marking his territory and to experience his inner power of masculinity as power and its "projection" He feels "alive" when he competes in ways very different from the female.

Females are more inclined to tend and befriend so they wrestle with fairness and competition and this can cause them internal conflict and guilt.

Competition when provoked by a perceived threat is different between males and females. The what and why that threatens females versus males is different.

There is a slight advantage for males in the sciences due to evolutionary forces but more it comes from women not being supported in the areas of science but this is rapidly changing

There have been many brilliant female scientists, mathematicians and logisticians.

It is extremely difficult to point to differences between the sexes that operate across the board as "always male versus always female"

The actual differences are very much nuanced so the flavor is different between the sexes not the substance.

If temper means anger this is once again different between the sexes but a females temper can be just as ferocious as a males and actually the female is more dangerous than the male because nature has instilled in her predatory behavior related to protecting her young so if she feels like she is backed into a corner she will become very dangerous.

Anger as a reaction to frustration is different between the sexes.

Try to let go of logic because it will just confuse your mind. You will only see the truth by first letting your emotions emerge and than reflecting back on these experiences.

[sandra-leigh]

I haven't noticed much change.

I have had a lot of Depression the last decade. Whether due to that or for other reasons, I went through stretches where I would get angry or hurt faster than the drop of a hat, which was not like me. I would not say that the feelings were "for no reason" or "without good reason", but they came out strongly with regards to things I would emotionally have put aside or sighed at or laughed off before.

That sharp edge has gone away in about the same time-frame as I started HRT. But there were other things going on about the same time -- and it could be that my anti-depressants were acting more efficiently. In the balance, though, I think it could mostly be attributed to HRT.

The change I mention was not a change relative to "how I used to be": it was a change relative to the years of stark depression, which were also the years I discovered that I was a cross-dresser and later came to realize that I am transgender. Those were pretty big life changes, and part of those life changes was strong internal pressure to live in and explore in my reconsidered identity. HRT was, in part, a distinct step in the furtherance of my self-identity. It was thus not necessarily the medication itself: it might at least partly have been getting back to living more truly to myself and not letting others get me down about that identity.

[Kathryn Martin]

Female hormones do terrible things to males. You will likely lose all of your math skills, and instead of thinking about the world you will emote all over the place. Tears, fits of giggles will fill your days. Your temper will go to hell and you'll bitch at everything and anything. In fact you will become an entirely different almost unrecognizable person. You will become a social butterfly, hold your pinky out when you drink tea, and will generally be completely passive. You won't have to work anymore because your honey will provide for you, while you sit on the couch all day and pamper yourself. The changes can even begin when you are thinking about hormones, it's really uncanny.

[stefan37]

If only the above were true :)

[Angela Campbell]

Can I start asking for directions now?

[Jorja]

I agree with Kathryn. I am not any where close to the person I was born as. I just can't figure out why everyone calls me Bitch as I am passing by? :)

[kellycan27]

I hope I don't lose my math skills.... I am a CPA by trade. :heehee:

[Marleena]

My hair grew back and I style it like a lady. I have a nice butt now and I'm going on a "D" cup. I have a feminine body now. My personality is still about the same but I have a more active imagination for sure. :)

[sandra-leigh]

I have a nice butt now and I'm going on a "D" cup.

My personality on HRT has not changed so much that I didn't just say to myself, "Holy S---! I want her recipe!" :)

[Marleena]

@ Sandra my nose grew real long posting that.:) I do like chocolate now and pickles. Personality is the same but much happier. That's the truth.

[Angela Campbell]

I think it is already established that chocolate will enhance ones personality.

[TeresaL]

Four months, and 36-26-36. Oh, and I giggle a lot. Teehee.

...and I'm prone to exaggerate.

[Marleena]

@ Luna, in all seriousness nothing much should change. You will still be the same person but better since it should help with depression which is triggered by the GD. Changes will be subtle and different from person to person. There should be a calming effect for awhile (the need for SRS could increase too). My pickles and chocolate example shows that I crave them from time to time whereas before I could take them or leave them. It is more likely just increased appetite and allowing myself to enjoy them.:)

[Badtranny]

Luna, the answer is a simple; I don't know.

Nobody knows. Every single person (who is actually doing it) had a different experience. Dosages are all over the map and everyone will be affected differently, some not at all. I got very little from HRT, though I think I'm beginning to see some slight changes finally after nearly 3 years and two of those on full feminization dosages. (max according to the Doc)

There were a few things HRT did for me in the first two years that's worth noting I guess. I gained weight that was more difficult to take off. My nails started splitting to the point that I must have gels if I want nice nails. My skin now bruises so easily my dog makes me look like a domestic violence victim. I started growing more hair on my chest, yes. I have to shave my chest every time I shave my pits. I barely had a hairy chest before. I'm sleepy a lot, I now have Iron and B-12 deficiencies. I didn't before HRT and now I do.

I could probably go on, but that's off the top of my head.

[Ashley D.]

Melissa hit the nail on the head.
I have friends that have been on HRT for years and seen little change.
I my self have been on HRT for 8 months and I've had huge changes both in mind and body.

[Beth-Lock]

Female hormones do terrible things ... You will likely lose all of your math skills, and instead of thinking about the world you will emote all over the place. ... The changes can even begin when you are thinking about hormones, it's really uncanny.

With me it wasn't my math skills, but my parking skills. Change of gender on my driver's licence helped me understand it. On getting my new driver's licence, I realized that I had gone to all that trouble and did all that paperwork, just to become officially a woman driver. That should have been obvious anyway, to anyone seeing me park the car.

[ReineD]

Well, if math skills disappear and literary skills improve, I'll eat my slippers. lol

BTW ... some of us GGs are already good at math and we think spatially too, so we have absolutely no issues with parking. If any of those things change, I think it's more a question of deterioration due to age than anything else. :p

[kellycan27]

For those who think that women can't park or drive safely.... Your boxers are showing! :battingeyelashes:

[LeaP]

My tendency is to say that I'm no different. But I'm told by others that I AM different, so whatever it is, is subtle. I wouldn't say, for example, that how I experience empathy feels qualitatively different, or that I feel it more, so much as I enter into it rather that note it.

I don't expect skills or interest to change, and haven't so far.

Aggression is GONE. While for some this may be a loss from an initiative perspective, it actually helps me focus, as I was repelled by it in me, always fighting myself. It's a change, but not something new - just other, existing characteristics becoming dominant and which feel comfortably familiar. I don't foresee a change in leadership abilities, as it is not natural to me anyway because of issues with social anxiety over the years. It's learned behavior and I know how to invoke it.

If you think about it, at any given time you function in a different mix of emotional and cognitive states. All of them are familiar ... they are, and feel like "you." Some combinations are predominant and make up the states that others associate with your personality. The ones that predominate may change – but you are still you, nonetheless.

For me, the biggest benefit of HRT from a psychological standpoint (so far, anyway) is eliminating dissociation, the profound sense of living inside a shell of myself.

[ReineD]

Aggression is GONE.

FYI, this is also true in the reverse. I know (knew) several FtMs locally who had reported a noticeable increase in aggression.

[Kalista Drake]

HRT has made me a much happier person!! I'm more friendly, make friends more easily... But for me, my reading skills have suffered a lot, but I think that's a result of other meds for an entirely different condition. Yes, less anger, and hostility came with the HRT!

[josee]

FYI, this is also true in the reverse. I know (knew) several FtMs locally who had reported a noticeable increase in aggression.
That's Testosterone working of course.

[Marleena]

I've become more cynical lately but it might just be from reading the posts in the forum. I guess I need a vacation.:sad:

[JohnH]

I feel a lot more calm and collected, and my relationship with my wife has improved. I still have my parking skills and my attention span is much better.

I used to be a social misfit unable to judge peoples feelings but now I am a lot more sociable.

Johanna

[Leah Lynn]

Hmm... So much to look forward to. I do a lot of math on the job, but hate it. Love the English, all aspects (elsewhere I'm a serious Grammer Nazi!), I can parallel park an 18wheeler (hate to lose that talent). Remember boot camp? That a$$hole in the gas chamber that would pull your field protective mask off your face? That was me, and I performed without a mask. I took so much tear gas that I cry for no reason. I enjoy chocolate and love pickles, but not at the same time.

Bring it on; I can't wait!!!!!!

Leah

[Badtranny]

Well I hope you don't expect too much because the truth is your personality isn't going to change.

This isn't just MY experience. Kaitlyn always says you should meet other Trans people and you really should. I don't mean see once a week, I mean have Trans friends that you see regularly and that become a part of your life. I know lots of trans people, some part-time, some full-time, some in early transition. Your personality isn't going to change anymore than your hair color will. You are who you are.

There are dreamers and wannabes on the board who will say all kinds of things, believe what you want, but hopefully there will be some real TransitionerS who come in behind me to reinforce the truth.

[emma5410]

I agree that your personality does not change. The difference is that I now have the freedom to express parts of it which I suppressed and kept hidden.

[ReineD]

I agree that your personality does not change. The difference is that I now have the freedom to express parts of it which I suppressed and kept hidden.

Emma, out of curiosity, why did you not feel free to express parts of your personality before? I'm not talking about wearing feminine clothing, makeup, hair, etc ... this is cosmetic and does not affect personality. I'm thinking about actual preferences and personality traits, for example appreciation of art or being outgoing, perhaps getting in touch with your feelings, or any other way that you felt you could not be or do before.

The reason I ask is, I heard the same thing from my mother when she divorced my father. I know this isn't related to gender, but similarly, once she received the divorce papers, she exclaimed with relief, "NOW I can do whatever I want. If I want to go out for brunch on Sunday mornings, I can just go!". I asked her why she felt that she couldn't do this while she was married to my father (he wasn't controlling or abusive or anything although things like Sunday Brunch weren't his thing), and she couldn't answer. I did respect her decision to divorce my father since she obviously felt uncomfortable in the marriage. But I never understood why she felt that she couldn't be herself while she was married. Sorry if this analogy is too far removed from your situation, but it's the best analogy I have.

[kimdl93]

Interesting comment, Reine. It recalled a verse from an old eagles song....

"Heaven knows it wasn't you who held me down,
And heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free.
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key.

[Nigella]

If HRT changes a persons personality, then half the worlds population would go through a change during the change :)

[Badtranny]

but it's the best analogy I have.

It's a pretty good one. It's not the hormones that change your personality, it's the act of becoming free that changes you in many ways.

A good example is what happened to me a few weeks ago. I was setting up my DJ rig at a friends event and I had to run out to my truck to grab something. I was parked right across the street, and it being downtown Walnut Creek, I had to run across two lanes to get there. When I got back someone (who knew me from before) commented that I looked exactly like a girl running across the street. "you don't even RUN like a boy" they said. "How long did it take you to learn that?"

Well, I really didn't know what to say because I didn't really think about how I was running, I just wanted to get across the street. But I can say that I USED to be hyper aware about how I looked when I was running or doing anything in the view of others. In this case, and these days, I'm not trying to run like a girl, rather I'm just NOT trying to run like a boy. Or what I would imagine that was. The same can be said for how I sit, how I talk and how I dance. I have finally and successfully dropped all pretense and now my natural femininity is allowed to take the stage. There is no question that I fit in with women and they do accept me as one of them even though my 'look' isn't yet 100%.

Is all this wonderful change in my presentation the result of HRT? Nope. These changes are the direct result of living openly for a couple of years. I have been totally out for a couple of years and full-time for over a year and THAT my friends is how you change your personality.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

One thing I would say as an on topic but different angle observation...

Way too many times it seems to me that people crave/desire/want/hope for all these changes that may or may not come.. you "want" to "feel" more feminine but its not something that always happens..you just feel how you feel, and its different..

you have to be prepared for whatever happens happens...its the idea that your internal body chemistry becomes female that is important...then you can internalize feelings and thoughts that you may not have experienced or you may process feelings differently..

and then as Melissa points out with no snark at all, its the life you live that actually changes you..

[dreamer_2.0]

Very interesting comments in this thread. So it's not so much the HRT affecting ones personality but rather living and presenting full-time? That does make more sense. I assume HRT would still have some sort of mental effect though, correct? Or would it primarily have physical effects? Could anyone post-op answer that?

Did presentation come naturally to you (anyone transitioning or post transition) or did things slowly fall into place after living full-time and HRT?

[emma5410]

I suppose it depends on what you define as personality. Living as a man I was always conscious of my mannerisms, of how I walked and talked. When I started my first job when I was sixteen I was talking to someone when they interrupted and said that I moved my hands like a girl. I used to get lots of comments like that as a teenager so it made me very self conscious. I worked in an office attached to a warehouse. I was the only male office worker. I was verbally bullied, for want of a better word, both by the men in the warehouse and the women in the office. I learnt to stand up for myself by becoming very sarcastic.
Throughout my life I avoided anything that was remotely feminine. My clothes were very plain and dark colours. I never wore jewellery. I was unemotional. Too worried to show empathy to people because I saw that as feminine. On the surface I was friendly but I kept people at a distance and never let anyone close or made friends. If I was talking to someone I always had several questions prepared in case there was a pause in the conversation and they started asking me personal questions. Fortunately, most people are happy to talk about themselves.
Now I feel natural and relaxed. I do not resort to sarcasm. I do not regard everyone I talk to as a potential threat. My mannerisms are naturally feminine. That constant stress and tension from having a terrible secret has gone.
I am still the same person I always was inside but now I can express it without fear.

[Badtranny]

Very interesting comments in this thread. So it's not so much the HRT affecting ones personality but rather living and presenting full-time?

NO you totally missed it.

It's not the living and presenting that changes you. You change because you're no longer hiding, or pretending to be 'manly'. You can put a CIS dude in a dress and make him live like a woman for a year and I guarantee you he won't act any more feminine a year later than he did in boxers. Dressing and living like a woman does NOT change you. HRT does not change you. Coming out doesn't even change you. Nothing changes who you are inside.

The only thing that changes is your desire to hide who you are. That changes first, THEN you do the other stuff in whatever order you feel most comfortable with. As Crom is my witness, I feel like the same little girl today that I did when I was nine years old. The lifetime I spent trying to butch it up, is not how I felt. That was not the real me. It was a disguise, a pretense, a pathetic attempt to hide from the truth. When the time came to drop the BS, ...that's when I 'changed'.

[Angela Campbell]

I agree with that 100% Melissa

[Kaitlyn Michele]

stopping hiding from the truth seems like the same thing as living to me..

hiding from the truth was not living..

Actually living does change you in my opinion.

[kathtx]

This is tangential to the main topic, but a number of posts have mentioned math skills and gender. I'm a mathematician, married to a GW mathematician, and though I'm not a specialist in the psychology of math learning, some of my friends are experts in that so I know a little about it secondhand. From what I know of the research, the evidence for gender differences in math ability is sketchy at best and there are a whole bunch of confounding factors. For instance, do teachers and parents provide equal encouragement to boys and girls in math and science, and do the tests even accurately measure the entire spectrum of skills relevant to math? Conventional wisdom is that boys are better at math skills and girls are better at verbal skills, but anyone who's gone sufficiently far in math can tell you there's not as much difference between the two skill sets as you'd think.

This isn't to say that there aren't gender differences on average. But the notion of there being a single thing called "math skills" that's influenced by gender is simplistic. To compare two people who have exceptional "math skills", my wife and I have very different ways of thinking. The courses in grad school that I found easy were those she found difficult, and vice versa. My wife can do 2D logic puzzles (e.g. Sudoku or Loyd squares) very quickly while I can't, but I can do 3D puzzles much faster than she can. I quickly spot connections between math and physics or engineering, she quickly connects math to computer science or bioinformatics. Do these differences have anything to do with gender? I have no idea, but they should suggest that there's no simple package of "math skills" that's likely to be revealed in a standardized test.

Anyone who's worried that hormone therapy will degrade their math skills, if you end up like CPA Kelly or my math PhD wife, you could do worse :)

[Ann Louise]

I don't know what combination of mental or physical causes are at work in what proportion on me, but I do feel different, think different, act different, and look different. I've heard the analogy said that hormones are biochemical "software." Might be the case, since I'm apparently running a different "operating system" now.

Mentally, after several months of counseling and HRT, I have now exhibited a true determination to lose weight, and have done so. Down from 206 last xmas to 185 now, and dropping a pound a week and that's accelerating. Fortunately some of it stayed in my newly budding, sore little breasts, and I'm a B-cup. My target weight is 170, and I hope breast growth is inversely proportional to the loss of moobs. Sure hope so.

Mentally, too, I never would have thought I could be as open about my transition as I am without a great deal of planning and controlled messaging, but since starting, and fully realizing and internalizing the importance of the decisions I've made in the last six months, this has brought to the surface a determination to be myself at all costs. I had a "plan" at first, but pffffff! I've already come out to my entire family, most all of my non-trans friends, many co-workers, and even high-level managers. This determination has resulted in our HR department starting to conduct "trans" training in a few week from now, in my work section, on my behalf. And my court-ordered name change will be effective in 10 days. And I'm proud so proud of me. That's mental, right?

My wife and I (she's an angel) go out shopping together all the time, and even though I know that I'm not passing to many, know what? So What? I think the physical changes due to not only HRT, but my attitude, my demeanor, or bearing, or whatever you want to call it, carry me though just fine. And it doesn't hurt to hear the increasingly more frequent "...and how are you ladies doing today?" from store clerks. Note from my profile pic that I'm not doing a CD thing. I'm a 59 year old transwoman wearing mostly Goodwill clothes and proud of it. That's a mental change, no?

Really hon, there are so many mental changes, and to me it doesn't really matter whether it's the HRT on me, or me acting on the HRT, or whatever? Who cares? Just do what your endo says, and don't play with your body chemistry on your own.

Yes! I'm not going to spend any of my precious time dwelling on this thing - I'm just going to live my real life to the max. A Wiccan transwoman friend of mine modified the Wiccan creed to fit her transwoman life. I love it. She says: "Do No Harm - Take No Crap!"

Take great care, Ann Louise Basketfield

[stefan37]

I know from my experience, I have allowed my emotions to run free and not keep them bottled up. If I have the urge and the tears start to flow I allow them to continue. Hrt has changed my brain chemistry in subtle ways that sometimes are hard to explain or put in words. About 2 months ago while lying in bed I finally realized why it is my wife no longer loves me like she did. About a month ago I had another epiphany and have started to shed my male traits and allow the woman inside to emerge. I really can't put it into words but it is a powerful feeling. Living more openly I think has been a large part of my how I perceive who I am. I have made many friends, some transitioned, some transitioning and farther than I and those that live in the middle some that only crossdress occasionally. I would have never met these beautiful people otherwise. I have become very close to 2 that are full time and have srs scheduled. I enjoy their company and their support has been incalculable in my progress. I go out daily into the real world and while most go about their own business and do not notice, or if they do no reaction, there are many that do notice and ridicule and laugh. I used to feel humiliated, but since I will have my male physiology for the foreseeable future I am getting to the point I can ignore it or laugh back at them.

Waiting for the court to get back with a hearing date for my name change, and I know that will be a real change in how I go about my life. It is both exciting and scary at the same time. I find as I live more openly on a daily basis and communicate with others as my internal self dictates my behavior.

[dreamer_2.0]

The previous posts from Ann Louis and Stefan made me smile. :)

I think I'm slowly starting to understand the supposed personality change. You will still remain yourself but the process of shedding the chains of masculinity reveals the real you. This new freedom would likely make anyone happier which leads to developing more confidence and perhaps being a more outgoing person. Except, this personality is the same one you've always had you're just no longer restrained.

Hopefully I'm catching on...tired of being a dumb boy...

Something tells me I won't fully understand unless I actually transition though.

[Beth-Lock]

It's not the hormones that change your personality . . . .

Wrong! Before SRS & T-blockers rebalanced my hormones, a woman friend took a look at my untidy kitchen counter and remarked, "Not enough estrogen yet!" Now, my counters are quite tidy compared to what they used to be, scrubbed clean and the bathrooms too. I now wear a nice full apron when I am handling food too closely, to keep my skirt or dress clean. I am starting to iron a bit too. And I fold up towels, blankets and underwear. Big changes.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

my counters look just the same..

one of my friends said "you are still a slob, you don't make a very good chic"...yes, he said chic..

my towels are in the same pile in my closet they've been in for 10 years...

what's an apron??

[bas1985]

Wrong! Before SRS & T-blockers rebalanced my hormones, a woman friend took a look at my untidy kitchen counter and remarked, "Not enough estrogen yet!" Now, my counters are quite tidy compared to what they used to be, scrubbed clean and the bathrooms too. I now wear a nice full apron when I am handling food too closely, to keep my skirt or dress clean. I am starting to iron a bit too. And I fold up towels, blankets and underwear. Big changes.

I don't know, but I tell my story, it seems like a chicken-egg problem.

I was not the "tidy-ordered" type but after I am behaving more like a woman and also
dressing like a real woman in house my habits have changed.

The key part is real woman. That is... of course in July with 30+ degrees in home (no air
conditioning here!) a real woman will not wear fancy dresses, just maybe a long t-shirt and
a pair of pants, and, if possible, braless.

Wearing real women clothes like that, nothing sexy, just feminine, has changed my attitude
towards the house. My SO, which has always complained about my home which was a "man disaster",
has come today and said that there is now a sort of "woman's touch".

Well, I am not on HRT... could it be that something in my mind is changing also without hormones?
Just wearing an apron, trying to spot all the dust everywhere, cleaning fully the toilet (I now understand
why women are usually over sensitive to the toilet).

Big changes... probably I am in another part of the journey, but I feel different even without hormones, just
with an attitude and dressing adapt to the environment (no high heels in home, like when I was a teenager!)

[Badtranny]

Wrong! Before SRS & T-blockers rebalanced my hormones, a woman friend took a look at my untidy kitchen counter and remarked, "Not enough estrogen yet!" Now, my counters are quite tidy compared to what they used to be, scrubbed clean and the bathrooms too. I now wear a nice full apron when I am handling food too closely, to keep my skirt or dress clean. I am starting to iron a bit too. And I fold up towels, blankets and underwear. Big changes.

Are you joking? That is the in the top ten of the most bizarre posts on this site. If you persist in this ridiculous line of reasoning, then I'm going to need to see some supporting documentation on female hormones inspiring people to clean.

We are trying to give people honest information here and there is nothing honest about inferring a hormonal influence to cleaning toilets. A few words spring to mind, but honest isn't one of them.

[ReineD]

To echo Melissa, Beth it rather sounds as if you are no longer depressed and this, more than the pure effect of estrogen, is making you care about the cleanliness of your surroundings and your personal self?

I've always been female and I've got to say there were times in my life when depression took it's toll and I was not interested in keeping my surroundings pleasant.

[mary something]

Reine makes an excellent point, depression can make a person simply not care. I've been there before and don't ever want to feel that way again. If so I'm glad that you're feeling much better now :)

I don't know where you live Beth but you're welcome to pop an extra E pill sometime and come over and help me clean my house ;)

[dreamer_2.0]

Reine makes an excellent point, depression can make a person simply not care. I've been there before and don't ever want to feel that way again.

This is where I currently am. :(


I don't know where you live Beth but you're welcome to pop an extra E pill sometime and come over and help me clean my house ;)

If you have any extra send some my way please. :P

[kellycan27]

I used to be borderline OCD in regards to neat, clean and organized.. A friend once commented that all my house was lacking were velvet ropes sectioning off rooms, and that she felt like she should sit with her hands folded as not to disturb anything.
Now you are likely to find kid's toys scattered all over the place... crumbs on my kitchen floor and laundry in heaps. Do I attribute the change to HRT ? Nope I attribute them to having kids.... The little darlings are a mess waiting for a place to happen. Neat, clean and organized would be a full time job chasing after them. :heehee:

[Beth-Lock]

To echo Melissa, Beth it rather sounds as if you are no longer depressed

I have not been depressed in years, except for a few months when the Dr. and I tried Androcur on me, and its reputation for side effects was replicated, one of the three bad side effects I got from it, being depression. Off the Androcur and back on Spiro, and the depression was gone.

I have had such a run of serious problems though, every time a new one hits me, I tend to get sad, (not depressed), for a day or two, and then snap out of it, when I have figured out how to deal with it. But that is life, when sometimes "Troubles come not as single spies but in batalions." (Shakespeare)

I keep plugging away, finding viable solutions to my problems as they come up, but I am definitely not depressed. A neighbor once remarked that no matter how grim things get, I always have a joke to make about it.

The view of Misty of Bad Tranny, that there are many paths for transition, has been a comfort, as has her website. Hugs Misty.

I also love so many of you on this site, even those I have argued with, and of course, those behind it. Hugs again.