What to Expect After Gender Confirmation Surgeries

This article will discuss internal transformation and where it could fit in within your surgical journey.

If you are a trans woman, at some point you may have assumed that surgeries are quick fixes for passing, dysphoria, and other trans issues.

While the physical transitioning is instant, many trans women have claimed that it took them longer to transition and transform internally. 

 

It is normal to feel and experience extremely subtle changes and often, your emotional and mental reactions and responses to surgeries may fall short of your expectations.

It is important to understand that this does not mean it would be a disappointing experience, but it is gradual and less overwhelming than you would have imagined.

Regardless of what surgery you undergo, it would be a gateway to self-acceptance and comfort, and thus, your reaction can never be utter disappointment.  

 

However, if you expect grand changes and hope that once you are out of the surgery room, you would look like a supermodel, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Because firstly, you would have already discussed what you wanted with the surgeon and they would deliver just that- maybe a slight lift of your cheekbones or a lowering of your forehead.

If you expect anything more than that, underwhelming reactions are inevitable. Secondly, for many of these trans-based surgeries, the recovery period includes a couple of weeks.

As such, once you are out of the surgery room you would encounter a swollen region or bandages wrapped around carefully. Needless to say, this would not fetch an excitable reaction from anyone.

However, most women report feeling a transformation within the body even if it is not immediately tangible. Since the changes are not immediately visible, your dysphoria will persist for a few more weeks until the changes are more evident.

 

For many trans women, there is a feeling of relief after the surgery. They report feeling comfortable in their own skin, more connected to their bodies, and more at peace with themselves.

For some, it may even feel like coming to terms with their destiny and their identity and that they did what they were supposed to do all along.

These feelings would inevitably lead to spiritual and emotional pacification after chaos rules over their being for the longest time.       

Trans-based surgeries also lead to women feeling connected to a purpose greater than themselves. It could feel like you are rectifying a blunder that the universe has made and thus, this period is often accompanied by significant spirituality.

In fact it is during this period that many trans women even make the decision to venture into trans activism or awareness, to fulfill their perceived purpose and find their calling.

  

In contrast, you may feel lost and confused the first few days after the surgery, as you attempt to adapt to the physical and mental changes.

This face can also help you find your path, since it is only when we are lost that we start asking for directions. 

Transformation often leads to further transformation, since once you change one aspect of yourself you may feel tempted to check off everything on your list.

The greatest internal change that comes with surgeries is your level of self-acceptance and self-perception.

This may be gradual or instant, but you will notice that you are embracing who you are more unabashedly as you can finally relate to what you see in the mirror.  

 

Transformation after surgeries is seldom restricted to womanhood. Many trans women have reported transforming as a person- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

You may feel a burst of energy to transform your life or that of others’ with your renewed, confident self. 

We hope this article has provided you with an overview of what you can expect when you decide to undergo trans-based surgical procedures, in terms of internal transformation. Good luck!!

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