This question comes up often and warrants a thoughtful and thorough answer.
If you've jumped into NBE on a whim, chances are that one day you will begin questioning the wisdom of that decision. It may be triggered by the shock of seeing your reflection in the mirror for the first time with your newly budding breasts poking through your T-shirt. It may happen the first time you find that you don't get the arousal response that you're used to during a romantic interlude. The reality of your decision may strike home when you have to decline an invitation to a pool party because you're embarrassed to remove your shirt. Or, maybe, you've been avoiding telling your spouse what you've been doing, but the cat's out of bag, and she is not at all happy about what you are doing.
All anyone can tell you here at Breast Nexus is that those, as well as possible sterility, job loss, and other consequences can follow one's pursuit of breast growth and related feminization as a male. It's very important to think things through carefully before undertaking a breast growth program. Natural phyto-estrogen herbs like Pueraria Mirifica are very effective in stimulating breast growth and other physical and mental changes in the course of just a few months.
But, there are instances when even after careful consideration of your desires for breast growth, after serious assessment of the potential risks vs. rewards that leads to a decision to go ahead with NBE, you may unexpectedly start having second thoughts, even a sudden rejection of everything you've been doing. What gives?
Very often, the motivation to start taking estrogenic herbs is to quell the mental discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between one’s gender identity and one's sex assigned at birth. This 'gender dysphoria' is often relieved when estrogen receptors in the brain are supplied with certain phyto-estrogen substances. Sometimes, within a just a few weeks of starting the herb, the mental anxiety gives way to a new calmness and clearness of thought. If all or part of your reason for starting a daily herbal regimen was to find relief from mental discomfort, certain compulsive behaviors, or desires to feminize your body, the result is often a cessation of these symptoms. This outcome is, in fact, an indication of the existence of a cross gender identity. At some point you may not feel the need to continue with the program, or to at least begin to question the original rationale for pursuing NBE as the reality of the situation becomes clearer.
Of course, your motivations for engaging in NBE may be for other reasons, and the misgivings may simply be a natural consequence of having a significant male gender identity along with your newly discovered female identity. We tend to focus on the female here, providing information and advice on how to satisfy the needs of our inner woman; breast growth being at the top of the list. This inner woman is a new discovery for many of us, and like all things new and exciting, we tend to lavish attention on her. Once you start taking the herbs, these feelings are intense and the excitement palpable during the early stages. There's a rush to experience the joys of feeling, acting, and looking female. It hits us like a bolt out of the blue. Our male identity gets pushed aside temporarily in the euphoria that often accompanies a daily dose of estrogen.
But one's male gender identity, such that it is, is not gone. In time your male identity will reassert itself, and the once strong desire to grow breasts will often be followed by doubts and reassessment, even to the point of stopping the program. But, then the old gender dysphoria returns, and the desire to go back on the estrogen returns. This on-again-off-again merry-go-round can be emotionally difficult to deal with if you don't anticipate and prepare for it.
One advantage of NBE over synthetic HRT is the extra time it allows to sort out what's really right for you--to find the right balance. There's something to be said for a transition that progresses slowly and carefully, allowing time for reassessment and verification of initial assumptions along the way. Irreparable damage can be done by progressing too far, too fast. We're not just talking about irreversible breast growth, which can cost thousands of dollars to correct surgically, there are lives of people that could be turned upside down in the process.
If you are having these second thoughts about pursuing NBE, it might make sense to take a break and reassess. At least try slowing your program down to allow time to adjust to the changes. Take the time to experience the four seasons with the beginnings of breasts, see how you deal with your new gender expression in various situations. Make sure you and your wife are on the same page, if possible. She, too, needs time to recover from the jolt that she felt when you came out to her about your cross gender inclinations.
So, the doubts you are experiencing are natural and, in fact, a blessing. It will insure that you don't drive off the gender cliff under the intoxicating influence of the 'pink fog'. You will probably over compensate to the male side for awhile before realizing it's not the answer either. You'll come back to herbal HRT with a more realistic and steadfast outlook in the future. If you are patient, you will find your optimal balance point. Please, use your head as you follow your heart.
Clara Kay
If you've jumped into NBE on a whim, chances are that one day you will begin questioning the wisdom of that decision. It may be triggered by the shock of seeing your reflection in the mirror for the first time with your newly budding breasts poking through your T-shirt. It may happen the first time you find that you don't get the arousal response that you're used to during a romantic interlude. The reality of your decision may strike home when you have to decline an invitation to a pool party because you're embarrassed to remove your shirt. Or, maybe, you've been avoiding telling your spouse what you've been doing, but the cat's out of bag, and she is not at all happy about what you are doing.
All anyone can tell you here at Breast Nexus is that those, as well as possible sterility, job loss, and other consequences can follow one's pursuit of breast growth and related feminization as a male. It's very important to think things through carefully before undertaking a breast growth program. Natural phyto-estrogen herbs like Pueraria Mirifica are very effective in stimulating breast growth and other physical and mental changes in the course of just a few months.
But, there are instances when even after careful consideration of your desires for breast growth, after serious assessment of the potential risks vs. rewards that leads to a decision to go ahead with NBE, you may unexpectedly start having second thoughts, even a sudden rejection of everything you've been doing. What gives?
Very often, the motivation to start taking estrogenic herbs is to quell the mental discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between one’s gender identity and one's sex assigned at birth. This 'gender dysphoria' is often relieved when estrogen receptors in the brain are supplied with certain phyto-estrogen substances. Sometimes, within a just a few weeks of starting the herb, the mental anxiety gives way to a new calmness and clearness of thought. If all or part of your reason for starting a daily herbal regimen was to find relief from mental discomfort, certain compulsive behaviors, or desires to feminize your body, the result is often a cessation of these symptoms. This outcome is, in fact, an indication of the existence of a cross gender identity. At some point you may not feel the need to continue with the program, or to at least begin to question the original rationale for pursuing NBE as the reality of the situation becomes clearer.
Of course, your motivations for engaging in NBE may be for other reasons, and the misgivings may simply be a natural consequence of having a significant male gender identity along with your newly discovered female identity. We tend to focus on the female here, providing information and advice on how to satisfy the needs of our inner woman; breast growth being at the top of the list. This inner woman is a new discovery for many of us, and like all things new and exciting, we tend to lavish attention on her. Once you start taking the herbs, these feelings are intense and the excitement palpable during the early stages. There's a rush to experience the joys of feeling, acting, and looking female. It hits us like a bolt out of the blue. Our male identity gets pushed aside temporarily in the euphoria that often accompanies a daily dose of estrogen.
But one's male gender identity, such that it is, is not gone. In time your male identity will reassert itself, and the once strong desire to grow breasts will often be followed by doubts and reassessment, even to the point of stopping the program. But, then the old gender dysphoria returns, and the desire to go back on the estrogen returns. This on-again-off-again merry-go-round can be emotionally difficult to deal with if you don't anticipate and prepare for it.
One advantage of NBE over synthetic HRT is the extra time it allows to sort out what's really right for you--to find the right balance. There's something to be said for a transition that progresses slowly and carefully, allowing time for reassessment and verification of initial assumptions along the way. Irreparable damage can be done by progressing too far, too fast. We're not just talking about irreversible breast growth, which can cost thousands of dollars to correct surgically, there are lives of people that could be turned upside down in the process.
If you are having these second thoughts about pursuing NBE, it might make sense to take a break and reassess. At least try slowing your program down to allow time to adjust to the changes. Take the time to experience the four seasons with the beginnings of breasts, see how you deal with your new gender expression in various situations. Make sure you and your wife are on the same page, if possible. She, too, needs time to recover from the jolt that she felt when you came out to her about your cross gender inclinations.
So, the doubts you are experiencing are natural and, in fact, a blessing. It will insure that you don't drive off the gender cliff under the intoxicating influence of the 'pink fog'. You will probably over compensate to the male side for awhile before realizing it's not the answer either. You'll come back to herbal HRT with a more realistic and steadfast outlook in the future. If you are patient, you will find your optimal balance point. Please, use your head as you follow your heart.
Clara Kay