Quote from: amandam on August 14, 2017, 10:41:50 PM
Do you obsess about something like a body part, or girls you see? Do you ruminate? Do you have a general sense of angst? Is it a depression? Do the thoughts start as soon as you wake up or are they off and on?
What is dysphoria to you? How does it actually bother you?
Thank you so much for asking this question. I could write a long rambling answer about the feelings of unease, envy of women and their lifestyles, wishing that my wardrobe was full of dresses, skirts and heels etc. etc. but other respondents to this thread have already articulated what I feel. From time to time, we all need a reminder that our transgender desires are not a sick perversion but a genuine and often debilitating condition.
In my case, I think that dysphoria has two drivers. One, the obvious one, is the ongoing need/desire to express my feminine side; the other is the need/desire to surpress it. I have had trans feelings on and off throughout my life and yet, in my 20s when I lived alone and could have experimented in any way I wished, I did not indulge my desires. Yes, there were a couple of occasions when I went out and bought outfits but the novelty soon wore off and purges followed. Contrast that to now when, due to having a family, the trans feelings have to be well and truly closeted (not only because my wife disapproves but also as I have brought children into the world as a father and want to fulful that role as much as I can) but, guess what, the dysphoria is stronger than ever. I think that all of us in this situation have, at some time, wished that we were single so that we could fully express ourselves but I do wonder whether, if I was in this position, the dysphoria would subside.