Lifestile

[DAWNLOVE]

When dus crossdressing become from obsession to a lifestile?

[Teresa]

Dawn,
I found the balance came when I went out socially, it brought meaning to my dressing, the obsession with certain clothes goes because you need to put outfits together, it also made me sort my makeup out and make decisions about the choice of wig.
To me you go from being obsessed about being a woman to actually achieving it to some degree , the question of passing fades away, you can really start to enjoy being seen as a woman and other people accepting you as one .
It isn't the same as being in the closet and fearing what people think, it can lead to being more obsessive because it doesn't have a balance .

[Devi SM]

Dawn, I think that Teresa has answered it in the best way.
I would add something more based in my experience, our mindset is getting shape before we are born, every element we see, heard and experience give shapes to our thinking but the gender or sex is something stronger that most of the time overpasses that mindset that fits in the "moral " of the society or our circle of family and friends, so when our real gender, female gender, for those born male, finds a way to start expressing itself crashes with this "reality " and a huge conflict begins.
Our concius mind tells us we are a man, but our inner gender that has been repressed sees the opportunity to be, fights strong and our conception of morality, religion, normal standards call obsession. When for some reason we give up to it, or we learn that is not a wrong thing, when we can overpass all those bad feelings of fear, shame, blame, more than that, when we accept ourselves and realize that is what we us and nothing is wrong, now we can start experience it mid open and we actually can control and it looses the meaning of an obsession and is neither a lifestyle.
For that reason one of the first question a gender therapist makes is: if you could go without fear of consequences, with the full acceptance of your SO's would you transition to live a 100 % of the time as a woman (not talking yet about SRS), if the answer is yes you realize that it's not a lifestyle but you real life, if the answer is no, it's a lifestyle, but obsession is word that fits in a mental disorder but crossdressing or transgender is not a mental disorder but an expression of gender dysphoria.

[CateNatalia]

I think the balance arrived for me once I got over the guilt and shame of it all. It took me years to get there, but once I achieved happiness within myself for being part-girl, something changed and it just became part of my lifestyle. A pivotal moment, if you will.

[Kelly DeWinter]

When "cross"dressing becomes "dressing".

[Jaylyn]

I suppose when you can fully enjoy it with out fears or guilty feelings, when it is an everyday attire maybe and all the clothes you have are female. Don't think due to where I live and my marital status this could ever come to my lifestyle.

[bridget thronton]

I think it becomes a lifestyle when I integrated the male and female parts of my life so I was always just me

[Beverley Sims]

When you go out uninhibited in either mode.

Free to shop and interact with others, like having a dual language ability.

[sometimes_miss]

First, it's not an obsession, because it doesn't respond to any treatment for OCD.
It becomes a lifestyle when it becomes your everyday normal attire 24/7, and not something that you wear just for occasional fun.

[Nikki A.]

When your female closet is larger than your male closet and you're picking out more from that closet. OOps, I'm there already

[TrishaLake]

part of who I am ...so lifestyle

[DIANEF]

Not an obsession, as I can take a break from it, and not a lifestyle as I don't dress all the time (though I would do much more if I could).