The idea for this question came up in my response to the "How old were you when you decided it wasn't going away" thread. In there I wrote;
"I had started to come to terms with it a few years earlier, not really accepting that it would be with me for the rest of my life, but acknowledging it was part of my personality and I'd better figure some things out or go nuts. So basically I spent my teens through my mid-40's dealing with something I didn't understand, couldn't control and never shared with anyone else. I'm amazed that I'm not terribly damaged and can't tell you to this day what really got me through."
Maybe it was staying busy on life with my family, being involved in my career or doing things with friends, but none of that actually helped me with my crossdressing, it just diverted my attention from it. While those things made the rest of life valuable the elephant was still in the closet. It's possible that the desire wasn't strong enough to need a resolution at the time and when things finally boiled over I was able to accept it as part of my world. I just don't know.
What helped you keep things stable during times of conflict between your crossdressing and the rest of life?