Working through all of that is no easy task and thank you Dean for sharing such a deeply personal and traumatic life changing/transforming process you went through. ❤❤ I went through something similar when it dawned on me I am gay back in the 1980s... From the stigma, to pre-empting others opinions, to how it changes someone (if it changes someone), to re-analysing and re-forming one's perception of oneself to planning one's future to a point one is comfortable with is a timely and potentially painful experience. That is a huge cocktail of emotions to unravel and process from numerous angles, then add bullying and trauma through bullying into that mix and that bowl of entwined spaghetti of emotions can quickly become mushed together leaving someone requiring therapy as it's too complex for someone to work through on their own, plus there is thresholds of pain in that mix too. Worse for you of course was the 15 year emotionally invested and entwined relationship you had. I can't even start to begin to understand how such a difficult decision that was to put all eggs into one basket of facing all manner of fears in one full swoop. I take my hat off to you. 🙂 It's great to see you have come out the other side positive and highly healthy, yes we all still have insecurities and vulnerabilities, but the great news is working through them with someone who gets it, been there and is strong within themselves makes for easy progress, and you my friend are a shining beacon of strength coupled with all the understandings required to help those starting out on their transitional/self-acceptance journey. ❤❤ The other positive of course is through that process of unravelling bowls of emotional spaghetti one becomes highly emotionally intelligent. Being able to unravel strands of emotions and identify how each emotion impacts someone on numerous levels and layers also lends to helping others to do the same. Also when there is a link between mental health and emotional inner-security and stability the possibilities widen. Someone with emotional intelligence is also worth their weight in relationships as they already bring so much to the table in what helps relationships grow and stay healthy. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand etc. leading to compromise, giving recognition and "nurturing" positive progress bringing people to their natural fruition. Emotional intelligence with values of looking out for others' best interests coupled with bringing them to their most natural fruition is also Spiritual health/maturity and growth. From some of our deepest struggles can come the greatest of gains... Hope this has been of some help/interest. Much love and respect to you. 🙂
This is so recognizable. When i started to struggle with dysphoria i was so deep in denial. I started therapy to please the people close to me, because they saw how depressed i was. But even in therapy i was to scared to talk about anything gender related. 2,5 years later i am starting to accept i am trans. I just got my toosurgery and exactly like you say, i finally feel like puzzle pieces start to fall together. Everything seemed so complex and impossible then. I couldn’t even think about being trans for myself. Now i feel how much easier it is when you accept yourself and start to live the life i’m supposed to live
Thank you for sharing your story! And yeah, at the time it seemed so complex ("how am I going to go through this all"). I'm happy for you that it feels better and easier now. Good luck on your journey (and enjoy the ride :) ) ❤
Always enjoy your pondering thoughts. It opens up my mind. Thank you Lauren Dana David Congratulations on all the hard work on becoming the man your dreams.
Wow.. I feel like I’m about to go through what you went through. You really gave me the courage to make top surgery a reality. Currently on low dose T, but thinking of doubling my dose once I end things with my partner. This is definitely a tough path. Not sure how this will affect my career and future, but I feel like I’m not living life to the fullest if I just dream about transitioning.
Working through all of that is no easy task and thank you Dean for sharing such a deeply personal and traumatic life changing/transforming process you went through. ❤❤ I went through something similar when it dawned on me I am gay back in the 1980s... From the stigma, to pre-empting others opinions, to how it changes someone (if it changes someone), to re-analysing and re-forming one's perception of oneself to planning one's future to a point one is comfortable with is a timely and potentially painful experience. That is a huge cocktail of emotions to unravel and process from numerous angles, then add bullying and trauma through bullying into that mix and that bowl of entwined spaghetti of emotions can quickly become mushed together leaving someone requiring therapy as it's too complex for someone to work through on their own, plus there is thresholds of pain in that mix too. Worse for you of course was the 15 year emotionally invested and entwined relationship you had. I can't even start to begin to understand how such a difficult decision that was to put all eggs into one basket of facing all manner of fears in one full swoop. I take my hat off to you. 🙂
It's great to see you have come out the other side positive and highly healthy, yes we all still have insecurities and vulnerabilities, but the great news is working through them with someone who gets it, been there and is strong within themselves makes for easy progress, and you my friend are a shining beacon of strength coupled with all the understandings required to help those starting out on their transitional/self-acceptance journey. ❤❤
The other positive of course is through that process of unravelling bowls of emotional spaghetti one becomes highly emotionally intelligent. Being able to unravel strands of emotions and identify how each emotion impacts someone on numerous levels and layers also lends to helping others to do the same. Also when there is a link between mental health and emotional inner-security and stability the possibilities widen. Someone with emotional intelligence is also worth their weight in relationships as they already bring so much to the table in what helps relationships grow and stay healthy. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand etc. leading to compromise, giving recognition and "nurturing" positive progress bringing people to their natural fruition. Emotional intelligence with values of looking out for others' best interests coupled with bringing them to their most natural fruition is also Spiritual health/maturity and growth. From some of our deepest struggles can come the greatest of gains... Hope this has been of some help/interest. Much love and respect to you. 🙂
This is so recognizable. When i started to struggle with dysphoria i was so deep in denial. I started therapy to please the people close to me, because they saw how depressed i was. But even in therapy i was to scared to talk about anything gender related. 2,5 years later i am starting to accept i am trans. I just got my toosurgery and exactly like you say, i finally feel like puzzle pieces start to fall together. Everything seemed so complex and impossible then. I couldn’t even think about being trans for myself. Now i feel how much easier it is when you accept yourself and start to live the life i’m supposed to live
Thank you for sharing your story! And yeah, at the time it seemed so complex ("how am I going to go through this all"). I'm happy for you that it feels better and easier now. Good luck on your journey (and enjoy the ride :) ) ❤
Always enjoy your pondering thoughts. It opens up my mind. Thank you
Lauren Dana David
Congratulations on all the hard work on becoming the man your dreams.
❤ Thank you!
Wow.. I feel like I’m about to go through what you went through. You really gave me the courage to make top surgery a reality. Currently on low dose T, but thinking of doubling my dose once I end things with my partner. This is definitely a tough path. Not sure how this will affect my career and future, but I feel like I’m not living life to the fullest if I just dream about transitioning.
Thanks for sharing ❤️. It’s a tough path indeed, take it slow and steady and enjoy the ride (with all ups and downs).
Is it just me, or do noses get bigger when people start taking testosterone?