Okay for some reason, this morning I was thinking about how when I was a kid I had a very specific routine when it came to being dressed.
It occurred to me the routine was what would be approprate for wearing some more feminine clothing - underwear, socks, then bottoms and then top being reasonable if you replace the socks with pantyhose.
It seems that I was pretending to dress more feminine as a way to cope with my dysphoria, which would make sense.
not sure what figuring that out now gets me, but knowledge is power, I guess.
Comments
Not sure
Why you think that’s a feminine dress sequence, just seems logical to me, exactly as I dress 99% of the time and always have.
Madeline Anafrid Bell
easy answer
Dorothy even gave the answer, it was her subconscious giving her a way to deal with her dysphoria.
It helped her to see it as feminine.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Awareness
Awareness is a very powerful coping tool that is more often than not discounted by many.
From very personal experience I can state very emphatically that awareness has helped me tremendously to avoid trigger situations and/or cope with anxiety and/or PTSD that get triggered. To be aware what is happening with/in my psyche helps me identify the context of inadvertent trigger, thus enabling me to avoid that particular trigger in the future.
And in the case of an unavoidable trigger situation (e.g. treatment at the dentist) that awareness allows me to make allowance for mitigating measures.
Having a "EUREKA" moment regarding our own early years and experiences can be very empowering for our self-esteem, even if it makes little to no sense to others.
Congratulations to you for gaining that particular awareness.
Greetings from Germany,
Jessica Nicole