And now I feel like I've just woken up from one of those dreams where you're naked and taking a final when you haven't shown up for class all semester.  You know, that split second of painful embarrassment you have right before you realize it was just a dream.  Anybody else have that happen?

Oh, and hi there.  I'm new, just been lurking around for a few weeks.

Welcome to Susans and congrats on coming out!

We have an introduction section of the forum. Don't be shy. Give us a proper introduction.

welcome to susans
i know exactly what you mean. I think its partly because we ready ourselves for huge reactions, and often people are so in shock they dont fully react right away. Then we're left waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Who did you come out to? Family or friends? And how did it go?

Mostly friends, but a couple of my more open-minded family members.  I gotta say it was a shock to absolutely NO ONE - I did it because I finally went into therapy in the hopes of starting HRT and didn't want anyone to be surprised when I turned up...different.  I got a lot of support, which was AWESOME.  But I'm really good at minding my own business and keeping my drama to myself - this was completely out of character for me.  So now I just feel...naked.  And kind of like an attention whore.  I was just wondering if anyone else felt that way when they came out.

Well, if you think about it, in a way you have taken some clothes off. Ones that didn't fit right and made you feel all out of shape. Removing the clothing of other people's perceptions, I guess. So it's only natural to feel naked, since now you're actually showing the real you to the world, uncovered.