Recently discovering I might be transgender, I didn't bring it up with my therapist the last session, which was our very first session. Should I bring it up the next one, and how? I went to her for anxiety and depression, so I'm worried she might just see my gender worry as a part of it, but I did tell her I was in a gay relationship. Help?
Well, my guess is they'll start exploring how you feel about your body and your gender. You might be a candidate for sex reassignment, if that's something you feel is necessary. Otherwise, you might start exploring how it feels to act and dress more like the other gender. If it were me, I'd be more likely to think the gender issue caused your anxiety and depression instead of the other way around.
My anxiert showed up at a young age with fears of tornadoes, and they progressed to a bad relationship..i grew up loving stuffed animals and playing pretend, or with dolls, so maybe it is a concern? I'm not sure yet.
Anything that's making it harder for you to live and do what you want to do with your life is a concern. Therapy is mostly a safe place for you to get this stuff out in the open. If you are concerned your therapist won't let you start transition if you answer a certain way... transition isn't just hormones and surgery. Transition - and I'm just making some assumptions; if transition isn't your goal it sure doesn't have to be, just having a more fluid or flexible gender expression is totally awesome if that's who you are, but if you did want to transition - it's a process. A huge part of it is you learning how to undo decades of conditioning. You've had people telling you "good boy" or "good girl" when you do something that relates to the way people perceive you since day one. And if you're like me that stuff's made you feel pretty lousy about yourself and scared about ever being genuine with anyone. So what I'm saying, is that you can start your transition process right away, just by telling your therapist your real name and which pronouns you'd like them to use, and then just practicing using those every time you come in. It can feel amazing just having someone else treat you like the person you are inside is worthwhile and ok. In other words you don't need hormones to start your transition. It's a journey and a long one. This was the case for me.
I'm not so much interested in a full physical transition. I sometimes feel male and want to work out, but other times I feel like wearing cute feminine socks, jackets, or carrying a purse/bag and cleaning, or talking about my feelings...which makes me confused the most! If I were to transition, it would be mentally; I feel comfortable with going by a female name and set of pronouns, even if present myself male.
