Its a drug of addiction. Gotta do it!
Its a drug of addiction. Gotta do it!
Honestly?
Well as soon as I get dressed, the overall feeling is overwhelming, complete relief and ecstasy. I want to be dressed get really upset if my en femme' days are mucked about with and get so excited so as to lose sleep the night before a full day beckon's.
Gillian.
Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.
It was "Want to" but since i am starting to dress now all the time when im not at work, those hours in male clothes are agony and I just can wait to get home and get dressed, so its definitely "Have to" now :-)
Dressing is a "want to" thing with me. The amount of stress I get in life dictates my need to. Dressing has always been a wonderful way to get away from it all for a while.
I used to feel it was a stress reliever. Now that i have dressed 24/7 for the last couple months, I have realized it is a need. I feel so much more myself and feel complete. I used to have the feeling of complete confusion about why i dressed. Now i am so confortable and enjoy everyday.
[SIZE="2"]I want to, because I know how good it makes me feel when I’m dressed. So, if I want to feel really good (and who doesn’t?), I have a need to dress. If I go long periods without wearing my favorite femme clothes, I’m not happy – this translates into a “need” to dress that becomes palpable, so I want to dress with a strong desire. Age has not diminished this curious “need” one little bit…Originally Posted by tgirl2b
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By the time I had read everyones response to this thread, I had time to give it some real thought and I have decided for me it has always been a need, that started when I was around 6 years old, at least the the first I remember it being there.I have felt the depression, hidden rage, shame and guilt and still the need was there.
Well if you need it that bad, you might as well do it because you want to, and if you do it often enough, you for get about that need, and just remember the want too. But stop dressing for a while and then you are reminded of the need, because of the depression, hidden rage and general malaise.
Tina B.
Oh, I guess that means it's a need, but I want to!
For me it's a need and a want both simultaneously.
It's both for me too; I like to dress when I'm in the mood and need to dress when the opportunity presents itself. Either way, I still feel good inside.
This question comes up frequently. My response I wont die if I dont dress. Its not like the need for food, water and companionship. Do I feel more stressed out do I feel the urge to dress yes. I'm not sure if anyone has ever died from not crossdressing.
That answer varies from time to time. However, since there have been times when dressing has been something of a compulsion for me, I must say that I need to dress. I do not need to very often but there is a very strong compulsion in there some place.
I pretty much want to dress but, I really don't feel a need to dress.
Definitely a want rather than a need. I don't always want to dress and frequently when I want to I am not able to dress. On the other hand, there have been many times when dressing has seemed too much trouble or when something I need to do would be more easily done in male rather than female clothes and I have forced myself to dress in order to experience what it feels like, as a woman would feel, to have to wear the bra, the girdle, the stockings, the skirt, the heels, etc. Unfortunately, because I am not able to go out dressed, sometimes this has to be limited to under-dressing - so I don't get to find out what it's like to walk a long way or try to run in heels or to deal with a skirt on a windy day. I want to do those things but I don't need to.
It used to be more of a need, but as I've come more to accept it it's turned into a want. I think that just proves that the more you resist the urge the stronger it becomes. Besides, I've finally admitted to myself that CDing is FUN!
Mina Lost aka Lynda
Yes! Me to!
Mina Lost aka Lynda
I want to dress. It is a very interesting activity with challenges and a variety of rewards.
In need to dress. I get cranky if I go too long. I can live with cranky, but my bride sure appreciates it when I finally mellow out after a good session of girl time.
Sarah
Being transgender isn't a lifestyle choice. How you deal with it is.
Well, if the desire to dress ultimately leads to mental confusion, shaking hands, short attention span and a long list of other psychological and physical symptoms that we have collectively listed, then I would class this as an addiction.
I don't know if we got this way by nature or nurture, I only know that we are this way. I come down strongly on the side of NEED TO. I have very little opportunity to dress, so I know the effects of a build-up of crossdressing chemicals in the brain. It's totally debilitating! The Pink Fog is a drug, and I, for one, am helpless against it.
Okay, in the short-term between fixes of dressing it may feel like we dress because we want to. We're just fooling ourselves if it feels like a choice. That's like taking a recreational hit of heroine. In time it will again become a deep burning need.
Can anyone relate to that?
Heidi
I need to, I want to, plain and simple wish to. Everyone around me has said in one way or another that I am a much happier, nicer, kinder, gentler and wonderful human being when my feminine side comes out. It goes back to that whole idea that men with transgender indentities can overcompensate their masculinity with the asshole factor (that was a quote from a male friend).
Where is your mountain and have you climbed it today?
If I want to, it usually goes with an event or a reason [ party, seeing friends, or shopping ] As I mature the need has diminshed, I enjoy my time as Lisa more now because the need is under control.
I've got to come down on the side of need rather than want. I tried for some 45 years to deny who I am, then it got so that it hurt so much to be in denial that I tried to "shame" myself out of wanting to be me.
When I finally gave in and started to dress, I found myself becoming a much better person all round - including better at my job which requires a certain amount of empathy. At that stage I thought I had it "under control", but it's probably truer to say that cross-dressing had me under control.
It has got to the stage where I get a gut-wrenching feeling whenever I have to put on drab outers for work under the formal dress code or with my 88 year old father. In the looks department, I'm still at the stage of "that guy makes a really ugly woman" but I'm working towards "that's one ugly woman". He was never handsome and I will never be beautiful, but at least I will be me.
Check out this link if you are wondering about joining Safe Haven.
This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any
Galileo said "You cannot teach a man anything" and they accuse ME of being sexist
Never ascribe to malice that which can be easily explained by sheer stupidity
I need to dress or there is an overpowering urge that is very hard to control. I found that underdressing helps a lot when not able to fully dress.
Both!
Cary
I have a need to express myself.
Dressing allows me to achieve the state of mind that allows my feminine identity to emerge.
Together, they establish the method of expression that fulfills my need for expression. With these items in place, i find the entire experience enjoyable, cathartic, relaxing, and sensual.
It's nice to be able to slip into a soft smooth silky special place, and just enjoy something for what it is.
The previous sentence reminds me of the Nike ad that Mel Gibson & Helen Hunt in "What Women Want". Sheesh - what a blast from the past in support of CDers! The ability to hear women's thoughts - an intriguing concept to ponder...
Ok, ok, back to the thread...
I don't need to dress up, I dress because I want to I never looked at crossdressing as a basic nesessity for life.
I think that for most of us, it's a true need for our emotional health. Something drives this need. It seems that no one knows why we ever started to dress in the first place...just several theories as to why.
It may be different for each of us in some ways. But seriously, if it was just a 'want' I think many that have purged would have purged for good.
So for me, it's a need and I embrace that need and can also call it a want to
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