A good question, Star--and a with a lot of very varied answers, so I see!

I suspect it makes a difference what's motivating the crossdressing. If it's chiefly a matter of gender dysphoria, the needs can be very insistent, and if they're not fulfilled, extremely depressing. Yet with some people it seems that gender-related needs can in some circumstances go underground for long periods, even for years, or not emerge at all until later in life.

Speaking for myself, my crossdressing has been at least partly sexually motivated, and since my early teens when it started I can't say I've ever gone more than a few weeks at most without wanting to crossdress. With me it's not "relief from anxiety." Luckily I've never habitually suffered from anxiety, and unlike some, I'm comfortable in male mode. It's more like "I just can't resist the urge."

I will admit I haven't put as much effort into crossdressing in recent years as I got older, into wearing makeup every time and so forth. The old TV/TS Tapestry magazine that used to be published in the 80s and 90s once ran an article called "The Tired Transvestite," about how many of us get lazy as we get older. Sometimes it's enough for me to toss on a skirt and panties around the house, with an accessory or two, or a nightdress at night, and I feel "feminine enough."

Also while I have not been historically an "anxious" kind of person, I have had serious vision problems during the past year, and that has been worrying. I probably have felt less like dressing during that period. Unlike some, I dress for pleasure and enjoyment and not to relieve inner stress. It was the same with smoking, when I used to smoke--I gave that up sixteen years ago. Apart from the nicotine addiction itself I smoked for pleasure and not, as some people do, to relieve stress. So after the initial phase, I had no trouble giving it up permanently, since there are other pleasures in life, unlike those ex-smokers who are driven to find other ways of relieving stress and have a hard time quitting for good.

But crossdressing is different. The desire to dress does wax and wane somewhat as the weeks go by, but it's never left me for very long. I'm sure I would have a very hard time if I were obliged to give it up entirely. That's something I've never succeeded in doing, despite making game efforts in my earlier years. My resolve never lasted more than a few weeks at most, until I finally decided to "give up giving it up"!