Ah, well, better skip “Strange Days”, “12 Monkeys” and “Gattaca” then…

The question is somewhat difficult to answer, because the reactions to HRT are very individual. They depend on things like your age, your genetic make-up and the kind of HRT you get (what kind of drugs, what dosage, etc.)

To put things as general as possible: If you start HRT you may first feel euphoria, which is (more often than not) a purely psychological reaction. The actual effects of HRT will usually begin to manifest after a few weeks (once again: highly depending on what you are taking and how your body reacts to it). Unlike the initial psychological effect this will usually be more gradual, as your body and mind “ease into” their new state of being.

The obvious physical effects usually take months to manifest (growth of breast tissue, etc), though infertility can come earlier, particularly if you take anti-androgens or progesterone.

Because you specifically asked about sperm, the effects of HRT are (mostly) reversible in that regard, particularly if you haven’t taken HRT for long. Some people can become fertile after months, sometimes even years of HRT, once they stop taking it.

So: Yes, most people can stop HRT for a while, freeze some sperm and then go back on. There are no guarantees, but it works far more often than not.

I think I experienced similar feelings which usually appear when I was comparatively “better” than during the times that counted as major depressive episodes, according to the professionals I dealt with.

But honestly the way our psyche deals with depression is highly individual and good, responsible therapists/psychiatrists/neurologists/… consider a variety of symptoms before making a final diagnosis. With the exception of a high risk of suicide which will immediately place the sufferer in the “major depressive disorder” category, because of the immediate danger to their lives.

What I want to say: Probably only an expert will be able to tell you exactly what kind of depression you have/had. And I cannot claim to be one. I am simply someone who suffers from it too and I read up about it.

I am sorry for being the bearer of sad news. Suicidal thoughts are the most easily recognizable of the symptoms. And even if they are less persistent between major depressive episodes, a lot of us are still stuck with depression in one form or another for the rest of our lives.

And that’s the difference between minor depressive disorder and major depressive disorder. Thank you for attending Depression 101.

As other people have already mentioned: No, you are not paranoid. The pattern that you recognise is fake outrage or ragebait.

If you have some time to spare and are curiously about how the right-wing outrage machine works, I can highly recommend the video essay “Stellar Blade: The Fake Outrage” by Shaun. His videos can be a little dry, but he goes to great lengths to pick apart a single example (the video game Stellar Blade) and how the right-wing first embraced the game (in the name of their fight against “wokeism, DEI,…”), only to then do a full about-face when the game did not turn out exactly as they had envisioned (and claim that the game was full of “wokeism, DEI,…”).

It’s a long video, but it does a very good job to expose the mix of unsubstantiated claims, copy-pasted accusations and ultimately fake outrage that underlies right-wing behavior these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPsSguYNHpk

I can’t take articles such as this one seriously if they don’t mention right-wing terrorists recruiting through the same channels and means. That has been a known problem for more than a decade.

Treating online radicalisation solely as a problem of people with a migrant/non-European/Muslim/… background is very telling and borders on lying by omission.

Consider this headline from Bloomberg in this context:

About 90% of Migrants Deported to El Salvador Had No US Criminal Record

I can relate to your rant. So just one small note, if I may: I know how you may feel in this moment, but keep in mind that transitioning takes time. Yes, of course, there are things that can be changed quickly (new clothes, etc.), but other things take a lot of time (hormones take a while before they kick in and so do other physical changes). You do not have to be in a rush to get everything done ASAP, because it often does not work that way. So don’t put yourself under a lot of pressure and be kind to yourself. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is that you feel comfortable with yourself. Godspeed, friend!

As the psychologists love to say: “You cannot have no behavior”, because even completely passive behavior is still behavior. Identity is the same way. But semantics aside, I definitely agree that people should get as weird as they please.

The stock went down when Tesla’s sales numbers for the first quarter of 2025 got out and showed a decrease of sold vehicles, on top of Musk’s shenanigans and the protests at Tesla showrooms. Now these events have been “priced in” and the stock operates on vague estimates and wishful thinking again until the next slew of substantial bad news hits, at the latest when the next quarterly numbers are due.

It should not be a surprise to anyone, but it’s remarkable nonetheless: She is 20 and sounds so much more mature than her “cheats at video games to impress 4chan nazis” father.

I understand the critique of the characters, but I read the comic a little different: Not as an actual event that happened to Mattie Lubchansky, nor as a critique of the egg prime directive (or a statement thereon); but rather as a simplified (maybe overly so) self-critique of Mattie’s own denial and inability of self-reflection before her transition. That this self-deprecating joke is incompatible with the egg prime directive could be incidental.

I am writing this as a comment, because I am not sure if this applies to you, but also because other people should know about this.

What you describe sounds like a major depressive episode. I am - unfortunately - talking from experience there: Everything feels pointless and nothing seems worth living fear? All the pleasure has been drained from whatever you do? Seeing no reason to get up in the morning and do anything at all? Is your mind a merry-go-round of negative thoughts? That’s depression talking.

Unfortunately trauma and guilt tend to reinforce depression and so does living long years with gender dysphoria.

I am not telling you this because I want to make you feel more depressed, but rather because one of the first steps to get out of depression is to understand when and how depression is weighing you down. That doesn’t make the symptoms any better by itself, but it helps to keep you focused on the things that matter rather than obsessing about the negative thoughts the depression throws at us.

The ultimate problem of depression is the depression tells us that there is no way to get better and that every effort to get better is pointless. There is no sugar-coating it: Every way out of the depression is hard.

Therefore I strongly encourage you to seek professional help. Anti-depressants can offer relief even if they are most often no golden bullet by themselves. Therapy can also help.

If those things seem out of reach to you, try smaller stuff: Making a short daily walk, particularly when the sun is shining can already be a first step. And do not be hard on yourself! That is also the depression. If you are truly suffering from depression, you should consider yourself to be affected by an honest-to-god serious illness. You are not as productive and resilient as you usually are. So don’t torture yourself for not being able to do as much as you are used to.

I wish you all the best to get through this! 🍀 Feel free to DM me if you think what I wrote is useful.

AFAIK the importance of the proteasome for the immune system has already been established quite a while ago. If I understand it correctly this new research digs deeper into the processes in the proteasome as “the cellular mechanisms underlying [the generation of antimicrobal peptides] are not fully understood” (Quote from the actual research paper). So this new research fills a knowledge gap and is thus very valuable, but - no - the scientists do not claim to have “discovered a new part of the immune system”. That’s just hyperbole for the sake of generating clicks for the article.

I never had a choice, I was forcefully transed by my leftist parents who made me wear my older sister’s clothes when I was a child.

Congratulations! It is great that you feel more confident and euphoric by making such a discovery about yourself.

I do not want to diminish your joy, but keep one thing in mind: You are in for a marathon, no matter how much it may feel like a sprint right now. You have time to figure things out: What suits you best, what you want to do in regards to your appearance and your presentation and which steps to take next, etc.

Some things unfortunately take time, but that is also why it is important to not pressure yourself too much. You do not need to have all the answers right away.

One example is HRT: While the start of HRT is a big moment in the lives of most trans people, HRT is a slow process overall. Just finding the right dosage for yourself may take months and depending on various factors (genetic, age,…) visible changes may take a long time to manifest.

So, take the time you and your wife need to adapt. You can figure things out along the way.

In regards to the trans haircutter: As you do not seem to know that person, perhaps do not ask about her personal journey right away. It may come of as intrusive. If she offers such information on her own, sure, go for it.
But my advise would be to ask her about local resources. Most cities of a certain size have a trans/LGBT+ support network of some kind or other, something the haircutter may be a part of and/or may have taken advantage of herself.

Such networks are very useful to know about because its members can tell you about the right doctors which are familiar with HRT (not every doctor can be trusted with it unfortunately), other trans friendly health care providers, queer friendly businesses, various safe spaces, meetups and more.

But despite my reservations, please do not feel discouraged! Be assured, I am glad that you already feel more like yourself and I wish you all the best on your journey! 🍀

The links to the registration do not work for me.

deleted by creator