Search the Community

Hi, my name is PJ, i'm new to the chat site. I suffer from social and general anxiety, paranoid schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and avoid-ant personality disorder. I've come to this site to seek support from others as of lately I've been feeling overwhelmed and my mental health center doesn't really have anyone i can talk to for call in support unless it's the weekend.

I'm not sure if this is the exact spot to reach for help, but I've been experiencing a significant amount of anxiety over the issue. I've never been officially diagnosed, but I have dealt with anxiety of different levels of the past few years, usually managing to handle it on my own. I've been in a very healthy and loving relationship over for the last four months or so, sure that could be considered the 'honeymoon period'. But regardless, over the weekend my boyfriend revealed to me a few secrets that he had been keeping from me. He cross-dressed Feels like he may want to be a woman (undecided yet) After the initial shock wore off we spent hours and hours talking about it, crying about it.. everything. I've been through such a wide range of emotions... sadness, heart-break, even anger- even though I know I shouldn't be. I understand, accept and support any decisions he makes- though I'm not sure if I can continue a romantic relationship if he decides to transition. And that's one of those things, where I can see myself with him for a very long time, and marriage in the equation as well. He discussed with me what he preferred me to use, and male pronouns are preferred at this point in time. But besides the life altering announcement the weekend with him was rather good, in a safe place. Until Monday. I was forced back out into the world of school and work- I'm both a full time student and working 30/32 hours a week. By the end of my one and only 1 hour class I was trembling, having an incredibly hard time breathing and needed to escape. Unfortunately I had to go straight into work for roughly 6 hours. It was a long day- a good 7/8 hours of straight raised anxiety. Talking, hearing, breathing and general motor skills of using my hands was incredibly difficult. Later after work I joined my boyfriend- who's being quite supportive and feeling guilty that, he feels he caused this. I tried posting as a significant other on a forum site geared towards the situation, where I found few supportive things, but mainly that I need to suck it up and I should welcome any pending changes whole heartedly. But here's the deal, I grew up in a fairly traditional/ religious household, I may not be religious myself anymore - I still want to please my parents. If my partner transitions and I remained with them that would most likely cut the ties between me and my family. A large, fairly close family whom I love dearly. I never envisioned my life with a woman, though I understand, accept and support homosexual, transgender relationships... I've just never seen myself in one- not seriously at least. Further more, I love my partner just the way he is. Both inside and out, and his physical appearance is important to me- trying so hard not to come across as shallow right now. I had always pictured myself in a fairly traditional family setup... a husband a few kids, you know the good ol "american dream". Anyways, with all of this happening I've been freaking right now.. trying to come up with coping mechanisms, being supportive to my partner as much as I can. If anyone has been through anything like this or maybe has some kind words of encouragement I could really use it at this point in my life. TLDR: Boyfriend came out with gender issues, I'm freaking right out. Help please.

Hey everyone! Ok, so since I last posted, I think I'm doing better, but not really sure :/ As of lately, morning anxiety has been high, but I have not been getting panic attacks everyday (which is good). The thing is, I've had times when I feel fine (minimal anxiety or none at all) and other times when I get an attack they seem more intense then they did before. Either way, it leaves me worried. As far as going outside, I've been maintaining the same distance in my neighborhood, which is just 3 houses and driving the same in my truck. While I should feel good about it, I feel like it isn't enough. I feel by this time I should be able to drive at least a couple miles away from my house. It really frustrates me! My symptoms haven't helped much either. I get extremely dizzy when I feel very anxious or when in a full blown attack. I'm even feeling a little dizzy writing this haha. There are even days, when Im afraid to step foot outside because it might induce and attack, but just an hour or so later I feel good enough to walk 2 houses down and back. It's so confusing how my mental attitude can just shift on a dime like that! I think that's what worries me in the long run. I play too many "what ifs" in my head i guess. I just want to feel normal again. -Nate Hope everyone reading this has a happy new year!!