Hi all,
This may link into several previous and current threads, however it is a question I have asked several people so far and there are some interesting similarities in the answers.
I have watched members 'mature' over the time I have been on this site, buying their first accoutrements, making their first forays into the ‘outside’ world, shopping, clubbing, travelling, coming out to friends, family and colleagues, even making life changing decisions visiting psychiatrists and doctors, starting HRT, transitioning… And yes I fit into many, most, all of these?
So the question, hypothetical as it is, really poses itself, how far would I have progressed if not for the forum. Would I still be hiding from the world, my wife, myself, safely ensconced behind the bedroom door had I not signed up? Not that I’m saying that that act of joining up, lurking, posting, whatever was the catalyst, it more how the experiences and stories of others influenced my ‘progression’. A glimpse into what other have achieved whets the appetite for similar.
Now I am very much a highly competitive adrenalin junkie and risk taker who hates to think that there’s something I’m missing out on due to fear alone. The ‘if others can do it, so can I’ mentality is strong with me, enough to make me ponder not so much the extent of ground I’ve covered but the timeframe in which I got to this point: would I be here if I hadn’t located this (or similar) forum?
Now, I’m not saying that I’ve been influenced into being something I’m not, I’m not copying others, trying to ‘out cross dress’ others or treating this whole thing as a race, but…. The psychiatrist I saw is quite renowned for ‘erring on the side of caution’ and there are many negative reviews from patients claiming he miss diagnosed their GD or failed to see they were TG or TS. I know I’ve leaped of the edge and, while I’m enjoying the freefall, I want validation. I didn’t (I don’t) want the ripcord pulled just yet, but should I really be ‘here’ so soon…