Thanks for the responses to my last post. ^_^ I would have replied sooner, but I have been doing a lot of thinking lately.
Jamie xxoo said:
Have you only started thinking about this since this thread started? If you're in a vulnerable place in life at the moment it's easy to be susceptible to suggestion - I'm just a bit worried you might be announcing things about yourself that you'll realize in a few weeks aren't really right. I could be wrong - this could have been on your mind for years?
Before I saw this thread, I never really thought about the possibility of becoming a woman, though I had misconceptions and didn't know much about transsexualism. At the same time, I never really saw my self as much of a man either. I've known for a while that I have a feminine side.
Jamie xxoo said:
The key factor in whether you should transition or not should be whether or not you can *function* without doing it. If you can - don't put yourself through it. It's harder than you can imagine, even in best case scenarios. You can manage gender dysphoria, if it's not too extreme, without transitioning fully. You can get facial hair permanently removed, express your feminine side more through what you wear, how you act, how you talk, the activities you take part in, letting people know you identify with women and don't want to be included in "manly" things, part-time cross-dressing if that works for you - there are SO many options before you get to the point where you start taking hormones and get operations and change your entire life, test every relationship, go through unbelievable humiliation, and spend all your money on transition.
I know I'm definitely not functioning properly now, though I can't really see in the long term if I could function properly as a male. If I do go through with transitioning, I would want to go the whole nine yards if possible. I realize that there are other options besides transitioning, but I don't really see them working.
Jamie xxoo said:
Transition only solves a few problems and creates a LOT of them. Those problems you're solving need to be HUGE ones to justify it. Transition is a bit like chemotherapy - it can save you from a fatal condition but it nearly kills you in the process. (Disclaimer: Being trans is not like having cancer, they're different things. It was just a metaphor.)
Definitely talk to your therapist about this, maybe get referred to a gender therapist (a specialist in this area.) Big hugs for being brave enough to talk about this openly though, and if this *is* you - being trans - then I'm really happy this thread has helped you start addressing it.
I realize that transitioning is
not an easy process and will most likely cause me a great deal of grief along the way. Ever since I was younger I've felt that there was something "wrong" with me, perhaps this could be it. I don't know if my university has a gender therapist, though they probably don't. I live in Texas. >_> I haven't spoken to my psychiatrist yet, though.
That was a really wonderful response Jamie and definitely the kind of response I needed to see. Thanks.
At the most I am indeed a transsexual, and at the least I've fallen even further into madness. :lol Thinking about becoming a woman makes me so happy for some reason. My mind has been consumed by transsexualism lately. @_@ I have a Chrome window open with tabs,
so many tabs.