How do you feel?

[Cathytg]

I have a friend who is a family therapist and he asked me a question that blew me away because I had not actually thought about it in an objective and honest way before.

I will pose the same question to you.

He asked me: "How do you feel when you are dressed?" He did not ask me how the clothes felt, nor did he ask me how I felt about myself. It was a simple, straight-to-the-point and narrow question. It has made me think hard all week. I realized that my answer was different now than it was 30 years ago and it has made me become very reflective about my own self image and identity. Please give it some very serious reflection.

How do you feel when you are
dressed?

:daydreaming:

[Babette]

Well, I suppose that depends on how I am dressed. If I am dressed in my fuzzy jammie pants and lounging around the house, then I usually feel very comfortable and relaxed. On the other hand, dressing in more formal styles is fun and exciting but tends to be tiring after a while. From a different level, dressing makes me feel like an entirely different person and it is a person I prefer.

Babette

[charlie]

I feel pretty, feminine and ready to show myself off!

[Barbara Dugan]

I feel like nothing is missing.

[Cary]

I feel happy and whole.

[SamanthaT]

It's a good question. I get a buzz, a high, a greater feeling of being alive. I guess you could call it gender euphoria.

[Kate Lynn]

I feel absolutely nothing wether I am dressed in man mode or wearing womens clothes,I prefer womens clothes over mens especially the low rise jeans and skinny jeans.
If you could measure my emotional level with some kind of device they would be flatlined,but thats just me,but I do have a sense of humor,but as for how do I feel when dressed,there are no feelings,they are just clothes.

[LACD]

I feel totally at ease. I get a feeling of calm that sometimes I don't have when I'm in male mode. It is especially nice since Dear Wife is accepting and helps me stay in style. It's hard to explain, but I think it's kind of like meditating and getting in the zone. I have a good feeling and wish it would be like that for everybody.

[TGMarla]

Well, I feel good. I feel serene. I like the sense of being pretty, embracing the feminine, and feeling delicate. I feel more sensitive and in touch with my surroundings. I feel calm and uncluttered.

And to one extent, I feel closer to what I think my life perhaps should have been....female.

[Jennifer Brooks]

I feel stress free, happy, calm and very sexy.

[CherylAnne]

While dressed I feel calm. I am much more relaxed, do not seem to have the go, go, go, win at any cost attitude. I like myself more when I am in femine mode. I am nicer, more polite, more accepting than when I am "manly".

[curse within]

Kinda stupid is how I normally feel...

[Tracii G]

Complete.

[Karren H]

Prettier..... ish...esk....

[Holly]

Un-naked?:eek:

[Schatten Lupus]

I feel more "right," yet at the same time, I can also feel more frustrated at the same time.

[Rochelle Exploration]

I feel complete. Relaxed, happy and in balance.

[Edwina]

I feel stress free, happy, calm and very sexy.

Me too! (well three out of four aint bad):D

:love:

Edwina

[Jo-Michelle]

I feel good about myself because I'm being myself

[PamelaTX]

At peace.

[Shannon]

I feel more like I do now that I did before. (Sorry, couldn't resist the opportunity to use a very old line from the late 60's/early 70's.

Actually, I feel happy, complete and fortunate to be able to express and experience this part of me.

[Brandiwvr]

I feel as one in spirit, its just a spiritual jorney with a one way ticket that i will NOT ask for a refund. its is just so great to be alive and whole. I AM WO MAN AND COMPLETE...

[docrobbysherry]

But, while I'm dressing; preoccupied, distracted, and mindfull.:doh:

Then, it all disappears when I put the final wig on!:daydreaming:

[Elizabeth2-]

I feel like me at home.

[DawnRodgers]

Natural, normal and happy. Would stay this way all of the time, if possible. It is what I want to be.

[danacd96]

When I'm dressed I experience an emotional high. I love the feeling of being sexy and feminine. It relaxes me!! I don't have to pretend who Im not. It allows me to look how I feel much of the time. Its a good thing!!

dana:)

[Satrana]

Happy, satisfied, complete, free, more alive, more interested in reaching out, more concerned about others and sharing feelings.

I become a better person because the chains which imprison me are removed.

[Lisa Catherine]

I truly feel GOOD, the day's anxiety and stress melts away as I "doll up" and waltz about the house in 'hose and high heels! :daydreaming: I love to do that, and afterward, I truly enjoy being my male self again, and life is a lot more stress-free!!:hugs: I like the way femme clothing looks, as well as the way it feels. I enjoy the way my legs feel while encased in a good pair of pantyhose, as well as the feel of a good pair of 'heels and a skirt!!:hugs::love: I use a pair of silicone breast prostheses, along with my Veronica II from Classic curves for my hips, and I get a thrill when I look at myself in the mirror in a dress or skirt with "full gear"!!
The next morning, I wake up at peace with the rest of the world, and enjoying living life as my male self as well!!:D

[Jess_cd32]

I feel stress free, happy, calm and very sexy.

She said it all for me as well.

[Cissy Chiana]

How do you feel when you are dressed?

less non-normal

[vivianann]

I feel complete, like I belong, when I am crossdressed.

[cara]

I feel like nothing is missing.

Very Succinct, me too! Thanks Barbara
Hugs, Cara

[Kate Simmons]

Interesting question and interesting answers since how we view ourselves is actually a state of being.:)

[Kelsy]

When dressed I feel I discover what normal is for me!! It is rather strange but it's as if this is the way it should be, nothing out of place! It is when the outside meets the inside!!

:hugs:Kelsy

[erickka]

Complete, relaxed,.....Well exactly what Marla said in post #9.

[Chari]

Regardless of what feminine attire I am wearing, I feel my entire being is together, enjoying all the facets of me being me!

[melissacd]

I feel as if for the first time in my life I am really me.

[RobynB]

I fell this is the way I should be dressed. It is a happy satisfying experience.

[JoAnne Wheeler]

I feel FEMININE and at PEACE with myself
JoAnne Wheeler

[Tashee]

Sweet Happy and vulnerable in a good way.

I hope this is clear. It is much like a pseudo wall. The dressing keeps all the worlds problems, poisons ans dysfunction from permeating my little enclave. I hope that makes sense. Tashee Was Gods gift to me.

Some say its sin. I say she is my sanity. my health my stregnth.

I am not me without her. Nor am I her without my lado masculino. Masculine side.

Hope that this is non offensive and answers the question.

[Patty]

Complete and relaxed

[Sam-antha]

A better dresssed (?), better looked after and better to look at (?) edition of me.
~Samm
Ps Quite a bit more relaxed too.
~S~

[Jonianne]

I feel like me at home.

:yt:

I know I am male, but when I am dressed and walking through a park, I also know I belong in the "female" cloths I choose to wear.

[docrobbysherry]

Interesting question and interesting answers since how we view ourselves is actually a state of being.:)

"State of being", or "state of mind"?:eek:

[Cassia-Marie]

I'd like to expound on the "at home" feeling. Before I moved into my current home, we did some MAJOR house shopping. My wife and I must have looked at 20 different neighborhoods and 50 different houses. Each of them were very nice and each had things that we quite liked. When we walked through the door of the home we're in now, though, there was an immediate sense of "I'm home. This is my place. This is where I belong." That's how I feel.

[Bethany_Anne_Fae]

It's a good question. I get a buzz, a high, a greater feeling of being alive. I guess you could call it gender euphoria.


This sentence describes what I feel to the letter.

*hugs*

Zarabeth

[Lisa Catherine]

I feel the day's stress and anxiety melt away as I get "dolled up", and I feel great when I look in the mirror afterward!!:hugs::drink: I love strolling about the house en femme, practicing my "heels walk" in preparation for my next jaunt out in public. There, I get a kick out of just strutting about a shopping mall in a skirt and heels!!:D

[Celeste]

I really feel a deeper sensitivity to all things soft,sensuous and mellow.Feelings that are buried in male mode seem to be readily available dressed.

[Corsetted Nikki]

At first...
playful, soft, sensuous and sexy

After release... any combination of 3
a little silly, a little warm or a little sleepy

Little later...
either content or rushing to get doing what I put off in order to dress

[jazmine]

Good.

[Joanne Curl]

I feel feminine and pretty. I feel like the woman that's always inside of me-

[Katrina red nails]

Happy, relaxed and stress free.

[CD Susan]

When I am dressed I feel like I am in touch with the woman that lives inside my head. This is her way of escaping the confines of being trapped in this male body that she hates so much. If I was denied the chance to dress I would definately not want to continue living.

[LisaM]

I dressed for the first time in over 10 years this past weekend---just jeans and a sweater and makeup and a wig. I felt like I was finally home. I looked in the mirror and saw the real me. Its funny how we can look in the mirror everyday and see a stranger. And yet when we get dressed we feel complete and natural.

[Jenniferpl]

relaxed and at ease.

[CharlotteW]

I feel at peace with myself.

[Amy07]

Balanced.
Life pushes me one way, I need to push the other way.
Too old now to tear myself up over it, either.

[ColleenShivas]

I feel more relaxed and able to focus. Although some of my feminine side is present when I am totally in drab, I am a much more patient shopper if I am underdressed, and I do much better with domestic duties when I am fully dressed around the house.

[Tasha McIntyre]

Mixed feelings really, on one hand I feel incredibly good and at ease, but at the same time frustrated because I am too chicken to go out into the world! Arghhhhh

[Angel.Marie76]

When I dress I feel content and freed, like I've just lifted a million tons of debris off my shoulders. After that generally continuous 'good' feeling, knowing I'm generally dressed in what I might consider to be attractive/pretty clothing and sometimes makeup makes me feel good about the way I look, boosting confidence.

[AmandaM]

I feel like, me.

[annabear99]

I always feel relaxed and at ease when dressed. It seems to bring a scense of calm over me. I was surprised at how many answerred the same way.

[Kate Simmons]

"State of being", or "state of mind"?:eek:State of being, since reality at the time is pretty much what we make it RS. Who is to say our femme self is any less real than our "real" self?:)

[DAVIDA]

Normal!:thumbsup:

[beenherelongtime]

i feel natural

[JamieTG]

When I was younger there was definitely more anticipation, excitement, and sexual charge. Now in middle age, dressing feels more natural, relaxing, and gives me a feeling of well-being.
Jamie

[gennee]

I feel complete and liberated.

Gennee


:gorgeous::doll:

[donnapink]

I feel happy,calm,relaxed,energized, just wonderful!

[MaryAnn40c]

I feel sexy when going out,relaxed,calm as well. When I'm getting ready I feel excited but as I walk out the door I'm calm and feel great.

[Maura_ohio]

When i used to dress it was very sexual, but as the years trudge on , i find i just feel more complete, more comfortable in my own skin.

Maura

[Linda Mattson]

Unified! Integral! Self accepting!

[Justmeghan]

I cant really add much to this as everyone has already said what i was thinking. Except the fact that right now in my supergirl pjs i feel as if i can take on the world.

[Carole Cross]

It feels more natural, but I also feel frustrated at the same time. This is because of my male body shape and 'bits' that get in the way. I will have to put up with that until I have srs, but at least I am now on my way. :)

[almalove]

I feel, like a plant that its been without water for some time, and putting on a pcs of femme of clothing its like waterflowing through my body.



Alma

[Gabrielle Hermosa]

I feel good. I feel at peace. I feel right. My stress fades away. Life makes sense. I make sense. I think I feel what a normal person might feel like because I've never felt "normal" in guy-mode.

I wanted to say "Man, I feel like a woman." but I'm sure that joke has been beaten in to the ground in many a thread. lol

I feel good though, really good. How I wish I could feel like that more often, buuuuuut, well, you know how it is. My wife my be accepting, but the rest of the world doesn't feel the same. :sigh:

[MelissaSue]

I truly feel GOOD, the day's anxiety and stress melts away as I "doll up" and waltz about the house in 'hose and high heels! :daydreaming: I love to do that, and afterward, I truly enjoy being my male self again, and life is a lot more stress-free!....The next morning, I wake up at peace with the rest of the world, and enjoying living life as my male self as well!!:D

I agree with so much of what has already been written, especially the feelings of being complete, at home, looking on the outside as I always feel on the inside. I'd add focused. My mind is so much clearer, it seems. The one thing that I am NOT when back into male clothes afterward is stress-free. That's when the sense of things not being right starts to build once again...

-Melissa

[crossdrezzer1]

I feel,,,Pretty, Excited,Aroused, happy, Adventurous, Yearning for excitement and always dissapionted when the brief time ends,,,oh and did I mention very very LONELY

[jolanda_trav]

When I am dressed I feel more relexed.

[Tomara]

I feel feminine and content in being who I am.
Tomara

[jessielee]

i feel liberated as the real me. even more when casualy comfortably femme than when dressed to the nines. i feel i had been in a haze of slumber all my life and am finally awake.

[jolanda_trav]

Yesterday I answered "When I am dressed I feel more relexed."

But thinking more about this question I will add that sometimes I feel bored and lonely because I'm so limited to the closet and because I can't share the good feelings (or should I cal it "pink fog") with someone else.

Jolanda

[Susan Dee]

Just being so alive and at the same time there's a great calmness (the balance between them varies, with one sometimes stronger than the other). Another dimension to who I am, which makes me complete.

Looks like most of us feel pretty much the same way.

But how can you explain it to non-CDers?

[suchacutie]

I've seen this thread a few times and didn't know how to answer, but in the last few days I've ordered some new clothes, and without my wife's overt opinion. So far, everytime I try it myself she explains to me why the result is just silly, or unworkable, or unflattering, or whatever...you see the picture.

Well, Tina needs to learn how to choose clothes, so I keep trying! As there have been so many sales, I saw a sweater-dress, really mini, and leggings to match. I didn't have any leggings but I thought since I'm 41 33 38 I could pull it off (with a little padding help). I ordered them, they just came today, and since we had a bit of time, I painted my nails, put on minimal makeup, wig, hoop earrings, VS dream angels perfume, the black sweaterdress and black leggings, 4.5 in patent closed toe heels...and my wife thought it was flattering and even "cute"!

I'm in heaven!!!!!

tina

[Carly D.]

What was your original answer?? I think my answer back when I first started would have changed over the years.. originally I think my answer would have been that I really didn't know how I felt about being dressed that way.. of course that was when I was preschool.. then when I was in high school and even after high school I felt like I should have been born a girl and actually thought what it would be like to change my sex.. not that that was a viable option.. but I would always think that something was terribly wrong with me.. HOW DO I FEEL?? when I wear this clothing I feel like me.. the true me.. the true to myself me..

[Lisa Golightly]

Whole.

[Cathytg]

You ladies are simply awesome with your responses!!!

The more I read, the deeper I am moving into my own mind and heart. This thread is worth reading more than just one time.

I do notice that the responses are all very similar. Now, there is no mention of who is 24/7, in the closet, transitioning, etc.. And yet all the replies are so similar. Perhaps we are all simply finding our own unique place on a gender spectrum and that such a place of peace is reachable, regardless of the extremity to which each of us of feels compelled to go.

I, too, feel relaxed and complete when dressed although I usually feel that same way when in drab. I probably dress less than 20% of the time and, although I always want more, 20% is just fine. But that 20% sure makes this kid feel good!

[Kate's at home]

Balanced, calm, and focused within myself...and yet still "me"...

I keep wondering about reincarnation, karma, and cding in this life as residuals from past or preperation for future lives as a woman, full time.

Whatever, I do know there are feminine and masculine energies in tension inside, dressed or not, and both have there place in this life. This goes way beyond the dressing or not. It's who we are, and what we do with that, everyday.

Great thread!

Kate