If "gender expression deprivation anxiety" is what dysphoria feels like then the emotion which best fits is envy. I think envy of the feminine is what describes it perfectly.
Fortunately for many people this can be treated through very healthy expression or transition but for others it can become bottled up and left in an immature state where the psychology is problematic rather than uplifting.
Remembering that our objective is to elevate self-esteem and calm, we should apply measures which point us in that direction.
For many of us (certainly myself) my years of repression starting in childhood became problematic because I saw my core motivation as dysfunctional which created problems that need not have existed. Yes, there were societal roadblocks in my time which have largely disappeared, but I was adding to them through my own fear. It was like I was managing an illness rather than openly accepting a way of being.
The means we take to address that fear will be unique but if they are the wrong ones our authenticity will not feel properly fleshed out.
To add insult to injury, the unresolved envy we carried from childhood into adolescence may have become charged with sexual energy which only made things worse since it made us doubt our authenticity as well as our mental health. It also made us more susceptible to fall prey to caustic theories about gender variance.
Youth tends not to develop this blocked psychology which is why they have far less trauma to treat when they present to clinicians. I know because I've met them.
Completely agree on "Envy." I had that for the majority of my adult life and really didn't even realize it. But I experienced it every day. Looking back with a better mindset it is somewhat comical now.
ReplyDelete-Christina
Glad you are at a place where you can appreciate the levity ;))
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