Hi everyone,
I’m new here. Recently I discovered the truth about myself, that I am a woman on the inside and that I likely have been dealing with gender dysphoria my whole life via depersonalization. I am so blessed to have finally met myself but actually feeling what I’ve been protecting myself from is a very painful and lonely process. I have a wife and a 3 year old son. My wife is extremely supportive but also very fearful of our future. I’ve talked to two trans women at my work (also very blessed for that presence in my workplace). Still I’m missing community and support that I think I desperately need if I’m going to stay strong, figure out how to live this, and what my future looks like. I want shoulders to cry on and room to celebrate so I can remember that this is a wonderful thing when I’m feeling daunted. I appreciate any and all support.
love to all of you. 💕
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Welcome to the forum! I think you'll find a lot of support and kindness here.
Josh:
Good to have you with us!
MANY here have been where you are. There are a ton of things to figure out and understand, but, it is different for everyone. We are all unique equations with unique solutions.
Over time a number of members here have worked with a therapist. Given the fear of potential upheaval in our lives along with the shame and guilt, it is really hard for us to consider these matters on our own. Therapists won’t fix it for you, but they will help you uncover or understand what is significant for you and offer some things to think about. However, if you do this, look for someone with experience in gender issues. Not everyone has this background.
Are you connected with the trans community where you live? I suspect that there is a significant trans community in your area. Isolation is a big problem in the community and leads to thoughts such as “there’s no one else like me”, etc. Rationally, we know that isn’t the case, but there is nothing rational about fear and worry. Anyway, social creatures that we are, being among our peers is almost always a powerful thing.
Thanks for completing your Profile page. I usually have to remind new members to do that. What may not be understood by some is that it can provide a fair amount of insight as to what is going on for the new member. All threads will eventually sink to the bottom and get archived but your page will always be readily available and can be updated at any time.
Another way to get connected with the community is to search the Membership Directory for those who live in your area. Click on Social in the menu and then Member Directory.
Hello Josh,
Welcome to our TransGender Heaven (TGH) site: A Transgender Support Site. We are a wonderful, accepting, loving, helpful community where you can be safe and be yourself.
You can read about the knowledge and experiances of others on a similar path by reading articles and in the forums and chatting in chat rooms.
My hope is that you will become comfortable here and make many new friends.
Glad you are here. Looking forward to seeing you on the site.
Terri Anne, Ambassador
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https://transgenderheaven.com/chat/mtf-transgender-chat/
=========== TGH How-to Navigation ============================
https://transgenderheaven.com/forums/topic/member-howto-for-navigating-the-tgh-website/
Thank you!
Thank you! I’m really grateful something like this exists and I’ll be taking some time to look around.
Hi DeeAnn,
Thanks for the advice. Yes, my wife and I have both “therapy’d up” along with a counselor, and all have experience in gender issues.
I’m guessing there must be a trans community out here - plenty of LGBTQ organizations and I see there are some pretty high-up trans leaders in all sorts of places, but I’ve had some trouble finding an actual community. There was a local support group meeting I went to but was dismayed that it seemed like mostly mentally ill people (not that they aren’t legitimate too, just not really easily relatable and also a little scary to see as your first sense of community). Despite two trans women and a few trans men at work, no leads at the moment - I just keep getting sent lots of things to read 😂.
I’m going to keep trying though on the local community front! And yes - thanks for the wonderful tip about searching members by area!!
Some support groups have a particular focus and some do not. Often there are groups for trans women, trans men, youths, formerly incarcerated, etc. Contact the organization or the leader(s) in order to understand what they are doing. Going by what is on a web site may not be entirely accurate as sometimes organizations may not have folks who can update their web sites in a timely fashion.
Try a search string, such as:
transgender support groups around san francisco
My particular strategy is to go 5 pages in. If I haven’t found useful links in the first 5 pages of search results, I adjust my search string.
