International Transgender Day of Visibility
The 31st of March is the Transgender Day of Visibility, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of my story and how it helped my recovery.
I struggled with depression and dissociation throughout my teens and twenties. Focusing on anything was a struggle, I felt completely detached from myself and the people around me. I never even recognized the face that looked back at me in the mirror. The number of photographs that I'm in from this period can be counted on one hand.
Things came to a head six years ago, I began 2018 crying in my car, wracked with feelings I couldn't cope with. Years of envy and self-loathing couldn't be repressed anymore, and I sat there wondering where to go from there. I made an appointment with a therapist I found who specialized in gender issues, and shared my struggles with some of my closest friends. Six months later I began hormones and went by a new name.
Beginning that journey lifted a tremendous weight from my shoulders, and I was able to finally look at myself in the mirror. I had spent a decade never certain if I'd be able to keep pushing on, but coming out showed me a deeper well of strength and hope than I'd known I had. Thanks to some incredible support, I was able to truly be myself, and find joy in my life again.
That joy is ultimately what led me to peer support, helping my peers struggling with their mental health build the sort of support I had in my recovery. Our struggles aren't always the same, but that feeling of fulfillment and joy is something I know we can all work toward, and I'm glad to be a part of something that offers those opportunities to others.
PeerstarLLC is a supporter of wherever you are in this life. We will meet you where you are at, support you on the path to where you are going, and encourage you to be your best you.