First let me say, congratulations on finally getting your review. I know it can take a while in some countries.
Now then, As you may know, I am an older lady. I transitioned in 1980 and finally had SRS in 1990. Back then, self-help is about all we had. Self help can go a long way. We didn't even need letters for things like hormones and surgeries and sadly, many went ahead with them and destroyed their lives because they did not understand it like we do today. I felt really lucky then because I knew my direction and required very little help. If it had been required, I would have jumped through the hoops.
I will be the first to admit professional help is not always required. I also will be the first to recommend that someone goes and sees a professional therapist when having gender identity problems. There is a reason for this. We as individuals usually have a poor track record when it comes to decision making and gender identity. Transition causes life altering changes to occur within our bodies. Many of us are not prepared for these changes and make bad decisions during this time. Seeing a professional will allow you to bounce your decisions off of someone trained to deal with these type of situations. Ultimately, the decisions are still ours but we have someone to compare the decisions and help us to make the best decisions for us.
I hope that makes sense.
