Learning to lean on each other

[dawn459]

When you first come out to
A SO/FRIEND you need some
One who already knows about
Your dressing even though they might not physically be
There when the time comes
For you to reveal your innerself to your SO/FRIEND
they can be at home sending
Up a prayer for your strenght
To be well received by the
Person you are coming clean
To and to give you encouragement if things dont
Go as planned the first time.

[sometimes_miss]

Once I accepted that I was a crossdresser with some tg tendencies, the need to tell someone else really declined a whole lot. It's sort of like anything else that is in our private life that might cause a rift in the friendship; I don't go telling my very religious friends that I'm an atheist, or telling my cop friends that I tend to drive at 100+ mph often when the road's empty. No, if there's no reason they have to know, I don't tell. I don't make THEM now have to carry the burden of knowing a secret that might upset them; people often feel the need to tell secrets, at least to help themselves resolve uncomfortable underlying feelings they have about it.

Secrets; the number of people that know, which is required for it to remain a secret? ONE.

[Karen Wilder]

I think it helps if you have someone you can lean on, but often when many of us came out to our SO or friend, especially in the pre-internet days, they were the first person we ever told, so we needed to gather up every ounce of courage and intestinal fortitude and get on with it.

Having on line support groups makes it easier to find friends to offer encouragement and advice and a comforting shoulder if things don't go well.

:hugs:

Karen