[SarahSchilling]

Regarding the rhino...tee hee...and just to set the record straight...this was merely a farcical imagining of mine during the feeble but excessively long attempt at humor I posted months ago...(although it seems like years in light of everything that has transpired since)...during my first ever break from PM back in January. It was never meant to be a reference to the meaning I have since discovered referring to middle aged male sexual predators, nor was it a reference to the allegorical play of that name by Theatre of the Absurd playwright Eugene Ionesco concerning the rise of fascism in pre war Europe. Rather it was simply meant as a fictional and obviously failed comic representation of a supposed hallucination during PM withdrawals.
In light of that, I shall pick this up on the more relevant thread.
And I promise to return to less serious form shortly...hee hee.
Class dismissed.

That's what I thought. There's nothing to get. Its funny without a logical reason for being so.

I'm not sure flame will accept that, though!

[flamesabers]

Sarah,

Back when Samantha first posted the 'rhino' poll, I think I posted a comment wondering whether the rhino option was just a throwaway answer. It was when you and others kept on referencing the rhino I started to wonder if there was some elusive deeper meaning to it all.

Samantha,

You had a hallucination of a rhino during your pm withdrawals? Why couldn't your subconscious pick a more majestic and feminine animal like a flamingo? I haven't had any hallucinations yet, and I'm nearing week 3 of going cold turkey.

[Samantha Rogers]

Oh, Flame, I would have picked something different if only it was up to me, but the rhino wouldn't let me. You know how hard it is to argue with him...sigh.

[JennyA]

Side benefits for me:

I gained a lot of knowledge about this herb and others like Maca. I tell all my female friends about these alternatives when they complain about their butt or boobs and point them toward a massage/pm regime before they ever consider surgery. And I let them know how they can sculpt and transform themselves herbally, rather then through GNC and the pharmma companies.

[Samantha Rogers]

"Has anyone else found that under stress or emotional pain that the ability to manage your male/female sides is so much harder?......Guilt for painting my toe nails, shaving my legs, I love heels, having female cloths, wearing female underwear, etc, etc. I worry I might get caught and the implication for the remainder of my family. Yet I can't stop. I find expressing myself (although hidden) relaxes and comforts me hugely. "

Denita - The quick answer is yes...and no. What you have, sweetheart, like most of us here, is Gender Dysphoria...a disconnect of one kind or another between your gender identity and your bio body. It causes anxiety and stress and usually finds relief in crossdressing or through hormonal changes we make to ourselves either through herbal or synthetic HRT.
Because, essentially, what we are doing to our bodies here with herbs is exactly the same process of transitioning as is accomplished through synthetic hormones, only slower. If you are taking PM in truth you are transitioning already. Of course, it is a slow process with lots of time to change your mind.
The trick is to learn what it takes in your case to quiet the GID and stop the anxiety and make you whole, baby.
For some, nothing short of surgical alternatives will do. Others get started and after awhile when actual change begins, they scream WTF and run the other way. And then there are the rest of us, the majority, really. Stuck in the middle, looking for balance. Some hormones, some CD, tinker here, tinker there...searching for the perfect balance.
And it is tough because the ground rules change.
One day the pink fog is so thick you cannot see your painted toenails. A week later it may suddenly lift and you will wonder what you were thinking. Sometimes the change is swift and sometimes slow. And often there seems no rhyme or reason. This is not just me, by the way...many with GID report this. One thing is for sure. It will never go away forever. Another thing for sure. It is not your fault....let me repeat that last part, ok, honey...it is not your fault. It is a dirty little chemical trick that life played on us, and it is NOT YOUR FAULT.
Sorry for shouting...tee hee.
Baby, guilt is for bad choices...this is not a choice...get it?
For most of us finding a way to. deal with our GID is like trying to learn how to breathe.
What do you do?
First, forgive yourself (because your forgiveness is all that counts), learn to love this part of yourself (some find it a gift, really) and move on.
The other way...well..."that way madness lies".

Besides, once you stop berating yourself unnecessarily, you find all that is left...is fun.
Hugs

[spanky (aka Lola)]

Regarding the rhino...tee hee...and just to set the record straight...this was merely a farcical imagining of mine during the feeble but excessively long attempt at humor I posted months ago...(although it seems like years in light of everything that has transpired since)...during my first ever break from PM back in January. It was never meant to be a reference to the meaning I have since discovered referring to middle aged male sexual predators, nor was it a reference to the allegorical play of that name by Theatre of the Absurd playwright Eugene Ionesco concerning the rise of fascism in pre war Europe. Rather it was simply meant as a fictional and obviously failed comic representation of a supposed hallucination during PM withdrawals.
In light of that, I shall pick this up on the more relevant thread.
And I promise to return to less serious form shortly...hee hee.
Class dismissed.

I'm going to make a movie about rhinos and call it "Mooby Dick."

[❇ Abby ❇]

"Has anyone else found that under stress or emotional pain that the ability to manage your male/female sides is so much harder?......Guilt for painting my toe nails, shaving my legs, I love heels, having female cloths, wearing female underwear, etc, etc. I worry I might get caught and the implication for the remainder of my family. Yet I can't stop. I find expressing myself (although hidden) relaxes and comforts me hugely. "

Denita - The quick answer is yes...and no. What you have, sweetheart, like most of us here, is Gender Dysphoria...a disconnect of one kind or another between your gender identity and your bio body. It causes anxiety and stress and usually finds relief in crossdressing or through hormonal changes we make to ourselves either through herbal or synthetic HRT.
Because, essentially, what we are doing to our bodies here with herbs is exactly the same process of transitioning as is accomplished through synthetic hormones, only slower. If you are taking PM in truth you are transitioning already. Of course, it is a slow process with lots of time to change your mind.
The trick is to learn what it takes in your case to quiet the GID and stop the anxiety and make you whole, baby.
For some, nothing short of surgical alternatives will do. Others get started and after awhile when actual change begins, they scream WTF and run the other way. And then there are the rest of us, the majority, really. Stuck in the middle, looking for balance. Some hormones, some CD, tinker here, tinker there...searching for the perfect balance.
And it is tough because the ground rules change.
One day the pink fog is so thick you cannot see your painted toenails. A week later it may suddenly lift and you will wonder what you were thinking. Sometimes the change is swift and sometimes slow. And often there seems no rhyme or reason. This is not just me, by the way...many with GID report this. One thing is for sure. It will never go away forever. Another thing for sure. It is not your fault....let me repeat that last part, ok, honey...it is not your fault. It is a dirty little chemical trick that life played on us, and it is NOT YOUR FAULT.
Sorry for shouting...tee hee.
Baby, guilt is for bad choices...this is not a choice...get it?
For most of us finding a way to. deal with our GID is like trying to learn how to breathe.
What do you do?
First, forgive yourself (because your forgiveness is all that counts), learn to love this part of yourself (some find it a gift, really) and move on.
The other way...well..."that way madness lies".

Besides, once you stop berating yourself unnecessarily, you find all that is left...is fun.
Hugs

Thank you for this Samantha. I'm working on it.

Denita

[Samantha Rogers]

We all are, baby, every single one of us...lol
Hugs

[Robbin]

I think what is important that everybody here tries to help. I also think that everybody has something to offer on here that could make others feel better or help them on there journey to new discovery. To learn and grow and try to find out who you really are. So we all can be comfortable in are own skin. The skin we call life.

[GoneGirl]

Went to a Mexican restaurant last night in Oak Ridge, TN. Saw a car in the parking lot with a front plate reading "T Girl" in bright red letters. Now that's self acceptance! It warmed my heart.

Clara