Stress tends to run the desire to dress from my mind. Once that stress situation is gone I'm usually ready to crossdress and relax just a little. It's not uncommon to have several stressors running along at the same time, overlapping and living in my world for days, weeks and even months at a time.
In situations like that the idea of dressing can bubble up as a possible way to temporarily escape the stress. But was it the stress that brought it on or was there a preexisting need to dress that finally popped up like a spring flower, regardless of the stress. I think it's more the latter. I don't think there is anything external that drives this desire to get my girl on. Anything can trigger it. The forum, a stop in the closet, shopping, the scent of a woman in an elevator, doing the laundry, reading a story, watching tv or doing yardwork are all capable of being a 'trigger' for something I was ready to do but just didn't realize it.
Maybe I should keep track of the frequency and strength of these feelings and be a scientist once again, but where is the fun in that? Maybe I should dive into the closet right now and see if there is still another combination of skirts and tops that I haven't already tried, you know, just for the hell of it. What's doing it? I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with my brain chemistry, hormone driven and capable of being managed but not eliminated.
