Binder and Other Issues

[dirtywhiteboy21]

I just received a binder for the first time yesterday and so far, my mother has to help me get it on and off because I can't do it myself. Is there any way to get it on yourself. I binded with an ACE bandage since I was 15, I'm almost 21 now and had absolutely no problems with the ACE bandage and this binder is more trouble than it's worth. I got it from underworks and it's a tank top looking thing. Once it's on, I feel comfortable and it doesn't cause any problems. I just have to have my mother put it on me and take it off. I've also been having suicidal thoughts again but I have court tomorrow and can't check myself into a hospital, plus I already spent almost the whole month of January in a psych unit because I tried to hang myself in November and my mom found me, cut me down and performed CPR on me until the ambulance arrived. I was on life support for 5 days and developed Tracheal Stenosis (narrowing of the windpipe) from the intubation tube and had to have a balloon dilation on my windpipe which may or may not work long term. I managed to talk myself out of the psych unit after a day of being in there in November but my mom put a mental Hygiene on me in late December so they took me to another psych unit where they wouldn't let me have my ACE bandage or my packer and I'm not someone who can be confined to one floor unable to leave so I started to lose touch with reality and just played along until they finally let me go. They did set up an appointment with someone who has worked with Trans people before but so far I haven't been to that appointment because of some idiotic intake that I couldn't get to at a Prestera Center. I live in West Virginia and that one therapist is the only one in the state who is known to have ever worked with Trans people. The only good thing that has happened is that I was immediately approved for my SSI in court due to mental illness after a professional psychiatrist spent two years studying my case. I don't have any friends, I don't have a car, I'm too paranoid, cautious, and anxious to leave my house 99% of the time and NOTHING ever goes my way. I've spent most of my teenage years in psych wards where their bull->-bleeped-<- therapy helped in no way whatsoever. I've heard it all before. "Things will get better" "Think positively" etc. It's been 8 years and things will not get better nor does anything change. I honestly don't care about what anyone on here will say to me but I do need help with the binder issue, the rest was mostly a rant.


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[MacG]

Sounds awful. I don't know what to say and you don't want words anyway, so I'll just leave my binder thoughts.
Try stepping into it and pulling it up. (My body shape doesn't allow me to do this, but maybe you can)

Try putting in a thin, tight t-shirt, THEN your binder on top of that. This is the only way I wear mine. I think it allows the binder to slip on easier.

Roll up the binder before you pull it over your head. Then wriggle into it sort of one arm at a time. Then roll and tug it down. This is what I do.

The Underworks tank top binders do loosen up over time. You can try stretching yours on a chair back.

I had a tough time getting it on the first week or two of wearing my binder. It's much easier now.

So hopefully at least your binder situation can get better.

[dirtywhiteboy21]

Thanks.


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[Bran]

For underworks tanks, stepping in and pulling it up by the straps is pretty effective.  I've also had success making sure the fabric is pretty flat as I pull it on over my head, which lets me grab ahold of the bottom edge between my shoulderblades and work it down.  Getting it off, I pull it up from the back, or from the straps, then get my arms inside, bend over, and kind of push the straps up until the bulk of it is free.  It's pretty tough going; I've pulled muscles.  The binder itself is fine, though, and I've yanked on it hard enough to shred any other article of clothing I own.  Those things are indestructible and can, with sufficient force, stretch to way over twice their resting size.

As far as the mental health stuff goes, and I'm sorry you're in such a bad place.  I've got no platitudes, just sympathy.  I hope you find a reason to stick around.  And, if you do decide you want to talk about it here, we might be able to come up with something useful-- a lot of people have been through similar stuff. 

[camron]

turn the binder inside out. hold it by the bottom hem upside down and step into it so your feet come out the neck hole. pull the bottom hem up to your hips (now you are in it like a skirt with the straps at your ankles). now reach down and grab the straps and pull them up. the binder will roll up your body so you can put your arms through. pull the bottom down over your hips. pretty easy   

I almost quit wearing binders until I found this tip online. so much easier than over the head.

Camron