@SomeoneNADJS I don’t know how to keep my mind off it, it’s like everything I do I somehow manage to relate back to dysphoria and make myself feel shitty. I tried to stop thinking about it by occupying myself with other things but it never works for very long and it’s like dysphoria is everything. It’s all I think about and it never gives me a break. ... View more

@Tiny_leaf That’s an interesting point about the “system” being at fault, would that make it easier when talking to health professionals, just trying to at least pretend that the system is broken, rather than the individuals within it? Perhaps it would make it easier if you imagine that the people you tried to get help from do care about your health but the overall system that is healthcare just doesn’t work how it should. I don’t know if that made any sense or is helpful at all, but for me personally whenever I’m frustrated I try to imagine that it isn’t the persons fault, and I can direct the frustration towards something else. ... View more

Hi @Tiny_leaf I’m sorry to hear that your struggling at the moment, it must be stressful when you feel health professionals aren’t doing their job ☹️ Is there anything you can do right now that would make you feel a little better? Maybe colouring or listening to music might help? Sending you lots of love and hugs ❤️ ... View more

Hi @Cheeseburger that sucks that you’ve experienced hate for being who you are, transphobia is never okay  Sometimes just accepting yourself for who you are can help make you feel so much better, knowing that we as a community are making progress and knowing that things will improve. There are so many other people who have had similar experiences to you (myself included) and you are never alone  Do you have someone that you can talk to that supports you? Often one thing that can make you feel a whole lot better is surrounding yourself with supportive and caring people, who you can be yourself around and feel loved  ... View more

@SomeoneNADJS honestly today hasn’t been any better except that I didn’t have to go to school today, but I’m really just not coping at all ... View more

So this week was really difficult dysphasia peaked last night and I think I might be going downhill after I thought maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad, this week really just made everything a whole lot worse. I couldn’t get onto qlife all at all this week, they must have been really busy (which is fine- I know there’s heaps of other people who need them too) but I’m not getting any better ... View more

So my mum just said that I look nice with my hair out and it feels like I just got punched in the stomach because she doesn't know how much those comments hurt me and now I feel even shittier about myself ... View more

Hi everyone and thank you all for your incredible advice, the support made my day :) I'm doing all I can at the moment but obviously fucking dysphoria doesn't just go away no matter how hard I try, it makes me feel useless and it's like I can't fucking do anything without it being there and interrupting. Honestly there really is nothing I can do right now and today wasn't great I haven't been doing well recently because dysphoria makes me feel like shit about myself all the time... ... View more

Thank you @Tiny_leaf for the awesome resources and tips for binding, I really appreciate it    @Bre-RO Thank you for your kind words, really needed it tonight    I know there's a whole community of people like me and it makes me feel really proud knowing that other people have had similar experiences to me and everything will turn out fine in the end, but then I start thinking and how there really is nothing I can do to change anything right now and I just have to wait but all the smaller moments in between just become so overwhelming like constantly being misgendered and not being myself basically so now I just feel really down and I don't know how I'm going to go the next few days it's going to be really tough ... View more

That's a really good question actually, I haven't really thought about it but i guess there's lots of good distractions that would help like just having other things to think about ... View more

Thanks @SomeoneNADJS I do have ways to cope with dysphoria but not for when I'm in public or around other people. I dress fairly masculine generally but my school has a uniform and I have to wear the dress which is very uncomfortable and I also wear hats and bigger clothes to hide my hair and body shape but it really isn't going to work at school... ... View more

okay let's try this again xxnl,dexki=.llou2q1q12qxxxxx hmm... seems about right ahaha ... View more

@xXLexi_Lou122Xx  Weighted vests are used for people that have problems with sensory input, and commonly we need some extra sensory input through feeling and pressure, so the weighted vest can put pressure where the person needs it.  It's like clenching a fist- just putting the pressure on parts of the body can relieve some distress and help with calming down and to focus. Some examples of weighted vests look a bit like this:  Hope this helps a bit  ... View more

Today I'm grateful for the awesome Qlife peer support workers, they were super helpful when I was feeling really down and I'm glad I contacted them, so a massive thank you to whoever was talking with me (I know they probably won't read this ever but still- it was super important I got to talk to someone tonight, and I'm so grateful for them being there. ... View more

hahaha just realised I had been working for an hour on what should have been a 20 minute task ... View more

Massive thank you to @hellofriend  and @Claire-RO  thank to you both I got my assessment task done, so I will definitely be using the colour coded plan structure in the future, thank you so much  ... View more

Thank you both @hellofriend and @Claire-RO I am trying out the structure colour-coded plan now and so far it's working so I'll let you know how it goes soon. I think that what might work for me is to set super small time limits (like 20 seconds or less) and just write words so thank you for the idea- I hope it goes well ... View more

Gonna try and revive this thread hopefully  I've discovered a type of stim toy that seems to be working really well for me at the moment- squishy silicon things! Things like these are super fun to play with and the small dinosaurs and lizards can also fit in pockets!: Only downside is the plastic for packaging and manufacturing  Also the dinosaurs stick to walls which means you can pretend to throw poke balls at the wall and bam a little lizard appears out of nowhere    I'm curious to hear about any new stim toys anyone recently got or a recent favourite    Tagging few members who have participated in this thread before: @Tiny_leaf @MisoBear @xXLexi_Lou122Xx @mrmusic @N1ghtW1ng  ... View more

@Joop12 hey that's cool that you write your own music, it sounds like you really enjoy it. I do try and write my own stuff but I always only end up with parts of different songs that don't work together. Like I'll get stuck on a particular riff and it'll sound great but then I can't write past that one section which is great for when I just want to muck around or play with other people but not for actually playing a full song. What's your songwriting process (if you have one)? do you start with a chord progression or a melody etc. ? ... View more

Why Do You Feel So Down - Declan McKenna ... View more

@Joop12 hey that's cool you can play seven string guitars- my hands are pretty small so I get really sore hands and wrists after playing them, but I guess I just need to get used to feel a bit. As for music I'm into, I tend to like more jazz, blues and metal sounds in songs paired with some good lyrics (or none at all if that's what the song is doing) but then again some of my favourite songs aren't any of those styles and are more pop sounding so I mean I guess I just listen to everything I like. What about you? Do you have a favourite genre or just like listening to some epic guitar solos? ... View more

Hey @Joop12 I play guitar as well and I think it's pretty cool that you do too, so if you want to chat guitars I'm here. Right now I've just got a cheap beginners acoustic which has lasted since I was 8 and still sounds pretty decent for what it is. I also play on my dad's Ibanez electric but I'm saving for my own nice electric (probably a schecter but I'm not sure yet) ... View more

Thanks @Bre-RO I'm hoping that I can get back into the forum thing now and, likewise, I hope to get to know you a bit better in the future! ... View more

Loving this thread so far @Jess1-RO!   Pick a gif that represents your relationship with study at the moment Enough said. Tell us a little bit about your studies I mean, I'm still only in high school so I'm not at uni or anything but school still stresses me out a lot. I do all the core subjects (I'm in year 9 so things like maths, english, science etc.) but I have also picked the subjects I want to take for next year which is what I'm mostly looking forward to (psychology, photography and media).    What do you enjoy about your studies? I enjoy my studies (sometimes) because once I'm finished with all my homework I feel super smart like I can do anything and it's all good. I also love studying the things that I enjoy, because I am actually motivated to learn and be taught.   What are the signs that you are stressed from studying/experiencing study stress? When I'm stressed about school I tend to fidget and pace a lot as well as increased respiratory rate and heart rate, loss of concentration and difficulty falling asleep. i try not to get too stressed, but sometimes it's unavoidable, so I should probably get a bit better at managing stress.   What are your top study stress busters/coping strategies? 1. Get as much done at school/uni/tafe where it is often easier to focus and less distractions 2. Ask a teacher or friend for some help. There's no shame in asking questions when you're stuck on something 3. Work in small blocks and take breaks every 20 minutes for example. This will help for staying focused and not getting burnt out.   Set a goal for managing study stress! My goal for managing study stress is to try and get more done at school and be more efficient with my time. ... View more

Thank @Tiny_leaf , I agree it's been far too long since I was last oline. I've had so many ups and downs over the past weeks and honestly, at the time I just wasn't feeling up to coming online because even though I love it here, and everybody here is so amazing, sometimes it just takes too much mental energy to do anything and I was a little bit scared about being here even though that's very irrational. Thank you for checking on me, I know it's been a while since you posted the previous message, but I really appreciate it. ... View more

Hi @Tiny_leaf it can be really hurtful when you are trying to find useful information and are left with hateful comments from those who don't know how hard it is. I have had very similar experiences in the past, and one thing that I did find helpful was to find medical information from GP websites (even from GP's that I don't go to, just the information they provide is helpful; places that specialise in LGBT+ medical advice) as well as information from other trans people with lived experience.  Also, it is not naive at all to go online expecting specialist medical advice; being on the receiving end of hate speech from people who don't understand is something that you shouldn't have to deal with online. Having to fight for your rights is something that can be so exhausting, but at the end of the day trans rights are something worth fighting for. Somewhere in the near future, trans people will be able to be their authentic selves, and already you are doing such a great job advocating for our community  ... View more

Thanks @letitgo I don't recall feeling this bad before, usually I would just tough it out and wait for it to pass, but so far that hasn't exactly been working. I guess right now, this is just a way for me to develop some strategies to cope and to see what works for me so maybe if I just try lots of things, I'll find something that works hopefully? ... View more

@Tiny_leaf Usually I would agree, but right now that's not really an option because there's always something I need to be doing in my house and too many distractions as well, but thank for the suggestion- I might try and do that if i get the time ... View more