Binders have been making me really anxious lately, because I feel like I can't wear anything without it being obvious that I have boobs/am wearing a binder. Looking at my chest even with the binder and shirt on makes me feel awful and I don't get it. Binders used to help me a lot. Should I be concerned or is this just a normal fluxuation of dysphoria?
I’d guess it’s just a new kind of self-scrutiny and a new way your dysphoria is manifesting itself.
It sucks when a coping method stops working as well as it used to. It really does.
But sometimes it can help to remind yourself that you are looking at yourself far more closely than other people are. You are noticing imperfections that other people won’t see.
Like, the average (cis) person doesn’t even know what a binder is. They’re not going to recognize that someone is wearing one. If they do see it, they’re likely just going to think it’s an undershirt.
If you do want to do something more to hide your chest / your binder though, I highly recommend button-up shirts with busy patterns. Or even just plaid. Those things are pretty darn good at hiding curves.