We Asked People With Gender Dysphoria How They Take Care Of Themselves

Sometimes it’s the simple things that help the most.

Charlotte Gomez/BuzzFeed News

The uncomfortable feelings that come with gender dysphoria can really throw a wrench in your day-to-day life, making even simple tasks seem impossible. This type of dysphoria is often defined as a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because the gender to which they were assigned at birth and their gender identity don't match up. When your body and mind aren't seeing eye-to-eye, it's easy to feel pretty low.

We asked people to tell us what they do to make themselves feel good when they're stuck in some serious dysphoria blues. Here's what they said:

"When my dysphoria gets bad, I take out my guitar and play music. Sometimes I like to play my own music, music I wrote. Mostly I just cover songs. When I play, I feel like I'm in my own world, just my mind, my hands and my guitar. I escape into a little space inside my head and fill it with music."

— Anonymous

"I am nonbinary, but I was assigned male at birth. Whenever I experience dysphoria, I usually turn on some music and just let my mind clear. I've also found that it helps to tell myself, out loud, that my body does not define my gender and to point out things about my body that I do like. Just because I have big hands, doesn't mean I'm male. And I know I love my eyes. I have to remind myself that there are still positive things about my body.

Something else that works for me is talking to one of my good friends. They know that sometimes I feel awkward in my body, and they can help reassure me that I'm 100% awesome even though my body doesn't exactly match how I feel that day."

— Anonymous

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