Thought Swap
Thought swap is a technique to reduce the gender dysphoria through swapping negative thoughts about yourself with more neutral or positive ones. (“Thought swap” es una técnica para reducir la disforia de género intercambiando pensamientos negativos sobre ti mismo/a/e por otros más neutrales o positivos.) You can do this by thinking about times when you felt good about your gender, questioning negative thoughts about your gender identity, or reminding yourself about things related to your gender that make you proud.
Notice negative self-talk – thoughts that the gender dysphoria tells us that are mean, unkind, or critical. (Observa el diálogo interno negativo: pensamientos que la disforia de género nos dice y que son crueles, poco amables o críticos.)
For example, the gender dysphoria tells you – your shoulders are too wide/small, you are not really trans, you will never pass, you will always feel gender dysphoria.
Respond by thinking of something positive about yourself. (Responde pensando algo positivo sobre ti)
For example, I am beautiful in my own way, I have an amazing style, I pass more often than I used to, I did not feel the gender dysphoria this morning.
The goal is to turn negative thoughts into positive ones by focusing on the good things about you! (¡La meta es convertir los pensamientos negativos en positivos enfocándote en las cosas buenas sobre ti!)
Thought Swap
When you begin to practice thought swaps it can be difficult to go straight from a negative thought into a positive thought. A good first step is to move towards a more neutral thought. (Un buen primer paso es acercarte hacia un pensamiento más neutral.)
Neutral Gender Dysphoria Thought
How to Do A Thought Swap (Cómo hacer un “Thought Swap”)
1. Notice when you’re having negative self-talk.
Ask yourself: What is the gender dysphoria telling me right now? Pay attention to those harsh or unkind thoughts.
2. Think about how you can swap or change that thought.
What’s a more kind, true, or positive way to respond to yourself? You can also start with a neutral thought if a positive one feels too hard.
3. Say your new thought to yourself a few times.
You can say it silently or out loud—whatever feels right for you.
4. As you repeat your thought swap, take slow, deep breaths.
Breathe in calm and self-compassion. Breathe out the harsh, negative gender dysphoria thought.
5. Practice it often.
The more you do this, the easier it gets. Eventually, you’ll start swapping negative gender dysphoria thoughts without even thinking about it!
1. Nota cuando estás teniendo diálogo interno negativo.
Pregúntate: ¿Qué me está diciendo la disforia de género en este momento? Pon atención a esos pensamientos duros o poco amables.
2. Piensa cómo puedes intercambiar o cambiar ese pensamiento.
¿Cuál sería una forma más amable, verdadera o positiva de responderte?
También puedes empezar con un pensamiento neutral si uno positivo se siente muy difícil.
3. Repite tu nuevo pensamiento varias veces.
Puedes decirlo en silencio o en voz alta—lo que se sienta mejor para ti.
4. Mientras repites tu “thought swap”, toma respiraciones lentas y profundas.
Inhala calma y autocompasión. Exhala el pensamiento negativo y duro de la disforia de género.
5. Practícalo con frecuencia.
Mientras más lo hagas, más fácil será. Con el tiempo, comenzarás a intercambiar los pensamientos negativos de la disforia de género sin siquiera pensarlo.
Sometimes people feel resistant to this coping skill because they feel like they are ignoring or dismissing their thoughts, but it is important to keep in mind that just because the negative thoughts may be more frequent and feel stronger, that doesn’t make them more valid or real than neutral or positive thoughts. (Solo porque los pensamientos negativos son más frecuentes o se sienten más fuertes, no significa que son más validos o reales que los pensamientos neutros o positivos.)
“the thought swapping skills were helpful for coming up with neutral statements that validate how I’m feeling without validating the gender dysphoria thoughts” (A White Ashkenazi, man)
