[Lenneth]

My biggest/only fear is rejection (& possible ridicule) by my family.

I won't go into details but I will say that it is more or less a certainty if they were to find out.

I understand where they come from on it, but they are Very unlikely to even attempt to understand things from my perspective.

at least not until a very long time (years/decade(s)) after finding out (which would be like setting off an ICBM within the family) anyways.