We primarily cope with the condition by shutting down all emotions.
Definitely during my teens. But I gradually let my emotions out of the bottle more and more after leaving high school. Of course that culminated in me breaking down and coming out, so... :'D
We have an inability to discuss deep feelings with others.
Basically the same answer as above.
We are very insecure.
Yep yep yep. Even now, as I rapidly approach four years since coming out.
We have very few, if any, close friends, prefers to spend time alone.
100% true pre-transition. But post-transition I actually became quite popular, and began to really love being around others. ^^
We exhibit extreme shyness at times.
Absolutely. Less so as a girl, but I still have moments where I go completely silent and awkward, especially around strangers, and particularly while speaking English, which was the language that I grew up using as a boy.
We have a hatred of (and inattention to) our appearance.
I still have my bad days now, where I feel too awful to even make an effort. But it's something I think I'm getting over more and more post-transition. Pre-transition, though, this was absolutely me.
We avoid pictures and videos of ourselves.
I actually like pictures and videos of myself now. ^^ But pre-transition, I would not go near cameras, and there are very, very few photos of me from the start of puberty up until very recently.
We often have inattention to health issues.
Pre-transition, yes. I barely slept, ate badly, didn't brush my teeth, didn't exercise... Nowadays less so, though I can still fall into bad habits when I'm feeling dysphoric.
We have extreme modesty about our sexuality and partial and full nudity.
Totally. Prior to coming out, I was completely averse to both sex and romance, and even now, after coming out and discovering that I probably have sexual and romantic feelings buried deep inside me, it's all very awkward, modest and underdeveloped. I feel like with regards to sex and romance, I'm still basically at the same point that most twelve or thirteen year old girls are. :'D
We often take on dangerous jobs or activities.
Not really. I was certainly very indifferent to my own safety, but I don't think I went out of my way to seek out danger.
We often have well above average intelligence.
Not as far as I can tell. I guess if you're talking about the whole world's population then I'm probably above average, but I don't think I'm really any smarter than any of my university friends.
We immerse ourselves in activities or jobs that require intense concentration and highly technical vocations.
Yep. I've always been very passionate about foreign languages, which can often be a lifelong endeavour where there's always something new to learn, and I think part of that passion was probably born out of the desire for a distraction.
We are extremely competitive or extremely non-competitive with no middle ground.
I don't think I could possibly be less competitive, even after coming out.
We are very imaginative daydreamers.
Absolutely. Less so after learning to like myself and my life a little more, but even still~
We display self destructive behaviour.
Oh yes.
We possess a tolerance for others, very unlikely to be racist, homophobic etc.
I'd like to think so. ^^ I think the closest thing I've been to intolerant at any point throughout my life was probably the way I felt about those who were strictly religious in the immediate period after I came out. I didn't hate religious people or harbour them any real ill will, but I had heard so many horror stories about religion and LGBT people that I found myself becoming really rather afraid of people who took their religion seriously, and inherently wary when I found out that someone was religious. In recent years, however, I've been fortunate enough to make a number of strictly Christian friends who love me and completely accept me as a female friend (one of whom has become one of my best friends in the whole world), as well as a number of female Muslim friends who, despite being completely aware of my medical history, see me so much as a woman that they always remove their hijab around me when we're together in private. And I think that meeting such wonderful, accepting people has completely melted whatever prejudices I held against religious people. Of course I still know that a lot of people who object to LGBT people do so on religious grounds, but I also know that there are lovely religious people out there like my friends. So I don't think that I really approach interactions with religious people with any particular preconceptions anymore.
We are anti-war and anti death penalty.
Yep. Not much more to say than that, really.
We have the need for more than usual privacy in our lives.
I keep my life very private offline. But on Facebook, I talk quite openly about living as a transgender person, my relationships with my friends and family, and almost everything else. So not really.
We are very unlikely to fight or have a physical confrontation.
I've never been in a fight in my life.
We gave deep seated hatred of authority.
I don't dislike those in positions of authority simply because they're in positions of authority. I would only particularly take issue if I felt that they were doing something wrong or abusing that authority. So nope, not really.
We have on and off battles with clinical depression.
Yep yep yep.
We are easily able to place people by the sounds of their voice.
Uh... I guess? But what does that have to do with anything?
We are able to easily read peoples emotions.
As above.
We excel in reading and writing at an early age but have difficulty with mathematics.
I've always been more talented at reading and writing, but I never found mathematics that difficult either.
We often have suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts.
Yes. Less so now, certainly, but my mind still sometimes wanders that way during its darker moments.
