125. The Antidepressant & Hormonal Contraceptive to Gender Dysphoria Pipeline with Taylor Murphy

You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist

Like so many other young women I’ve met in my counseling career, Taylor was prescribed both SSRI antidepressants and hormonal birth control shortly after she hit puberty, and remained on both types of pills until her 20’s, impacting her libido, identity, body image, and self-esteem. Somewhere along the way, she developed gender dysphoria and a fixation on the idea that becoming a “trans man” would solve her psychological problems. But when she stopped taking meds, her “dysphoria” lifted like a fog. What happened here? And what can Taylor’s story tell us about the possibility of a massively underreported iatrogenic pipeline of young women being ushered from hormonal contraceptives and SSRI’s at puberty, to testosterone and mastectomies in their 20’s after years of low libido and identity instability?

Due to the many years Taylor Murphy spent thinking she was transgender and wanting to transition into a man, she now shares her cured experience of gender dysphoria and how it was related to the medication she was on. She shares her concerns on the side effects of medication and transition. Follow her on X @taymurph26

Books mentioned in this episode:

• This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: How the Pill Changes Everything by Sarah E. Hill, PhD.

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00:00 Start

[00:00:47] The impact of medication on identity.

[00:06:42] Effects of hormonal birth control.

[00:09:34] Mental health and medication effects.

[00:14:51] Feeling trapped in gender identity.

[00:18:16] Exploring gender identity and expression.

[00:22:11] Inner struggles with transition.

[00:23:42] ROGD Repair Course + Community for Parents.

[00:25:42] Parenting and questioning gender identity.

[00:27:38] Gender Identity Struggles

[00:32:55] Awakening after medication withdrawal.

[00:37:35] How birth control affects psychology.

[00:41:58] Gender dysphoria and hormonal effects.

[00:44:27] Medication impact on gender identity.

[00:48:24] Life after overcoming dysphoria.

[00:52:35] Medication and managing emotions.

[00:55:57] Adolescence and resilience.

[00:59:33] Discovering teenage sexuality.

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Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.

Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.

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