I have medical condition that effects my muscles, and I am unable to hold down a steady job because there are days when I need to be in bed all day as a result of chronic fatigue. I keep as active as much as I can by doing some volunteer work when I can. I take a prescription drug that contains a narcotic, when the pain becomes to much.
Often after part of a day of volunteering I come home with the muscles in the back of my neck hurting to the point that if I were to stay in my male clothing I would need to take some medication. I find that if I cross-dress in the right kind of clothes, that it relaxes and comforts me to the point that I don't need to take the medication.
Am I alone in this or has any one else experienced a similar situation?
What it makes me wonder is will I eventually find myself in a situation where I would be better off if I cross-dressed full time?
The more completely I dress as a women the better I feel, and that scares me as I am not there mentally.
I am wondering if there are some more issues that I have yet to deal with that I am not aware of?
I find it interesting that your crossdressing relieves your muscle strains, fatigue, etc.
Do you find that there is one really soothing piece of clothing, a combination of several clothing items, or is it the entire experience of dressing up?
I take regular medications for arthritis and see a doctor on a regular basis - actually a primary doctor, an arthritis doctor, and a dermatologist. I'm fortunate enough to be able to continue working full time. A few more years to retirement.
I sometimes have upper back/shoulder discomfort due to arthritis and find that wearing a posture longline bra for a few hours seems to help.
I also occasionally have some lower back discomfort that seem to be fixed by a couple of hours in my front lacing corset.
I think these effects are enhanced by the relaxation I get by dressing femme around the house.
Who else gets relief from physical/other discomfort by crossdressing?
It sounds like your condition has a large mental and emotional component? Because cross-dressing eases that component, it eases your condition. For many years I had to cope with internal strain and stress coming from refusing to accept my femme self, and it gave me arthritis--an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself. Now that I am moving into a state of acceptance I just feel more grounded and relaxed and happier all around. I still have arthritis--which is under control and never was a huge problem--but I just have this feeling that it might ease; and I feel much healthier. To me the main thing is not the crossdressing per se but the mental part that comes with it. SELF ACCEPTANCE when truly felt is, it seems, a way of curing or easing the effects of anything that is autoimmune in origins.
Cross-dressing does not relieve the fatigue, other than perhaps helping to prevent some of it due my body not having to deal with quite as much pain.
There is no particular item of clothing, or combination, I think it has more to with the entire experience. Although I need to listen closely to what my inner self tells me to wear, and it is usually something different each day.
It is good to know that some one else has at least some similarities. Thank you for responding.
Last edited by Loretta Ann on Fri Mar 19, 2004 9:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
As far as I can tell I have accepted Darlene, and in fact cherish her very much. I love to cross-dress and do not want to ever be in a situation where I can not do that again.
I totally agree with you about the internal strain and stress. When I resumed cross-dressing, about 6 or 7 years ago after an eight year purge, I experienced a lot of physical relief. and had much more energy immediately.
You state that it gave you arthritis--an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself. I am not aspiring to be critical in any way what so ever, but I would like to know how you arrived at that conclusion?
Thank you for your post, you and I seem to be on the same page with this issue.
Hi Darlene,
I had a lot less serious condition years ago, seems I had strained my back bad enough to have 2 epiderals shot into my spine which if anyone has had done they know its not pleasurable!! In short, after that didnt realy do any good, I had a Cindy weekend at home and I swear wearing 3 inch heels was instant relief !!!!!
It still took a while to get back to normal but I stand by the heels being the turning point to my recovery :-))))))))
Cindy
I've read a number of accounts of Crossdressing helping to relieve stress. Given the number, I have to believe it can help some people sometimes. I cannot claim any personal observation, becasue while I have been under a lot of stress the last six months, I have not been able to be en-femme as much as I would like.
I have noticed the following: It is far easier to eat sensibly while dressed. I can actually put food out of my mind for many hours at a time, while dressed. I think if I could go full-time, I might lose 20-40 pounds. Maybe the clothes are just a visual reminder and motivation.
I have bad feet. They are very flat. A couple decades ago, in an attempt to lose weight, I joined the jogging fad for a few months. Bad mistake! I managed to develop heel spurs about an inch long on both heels. When my foot doctor saw the x-rays, he told me he wondered how I could walk at all!
He prescribed prescription orthotics which I wear inside my shoes. They make it possible for me to walk, hike etc. The interesting thing is that I don't need them when I wear heels. One of the effects of the orthotics (besides raising the arches) is that they raise my heels slightly relative to the toes and ball of the foot.
I can wear 2 or 3 inch heels only for light duty that includes some sitting down, although under those circumstances (office work, going out to dinner, church services, etc.) I can wear a good pair of heels all day. Lower heels can be comfortable for even heavier duty. About a 1/2 to 3/4 inch heel seems to be best. Most flats are out of the question without orthotics--do something like one flight of stairs and my feet are in searing pain.
What it makes me wonder is will I eventually find myself in a situation where I would be better off if I cross-dressed full time?
The more completely I dress as a women the better I feel, and that scares me as I am not there mentally.
I am wondering if there are some more issues that I have yet to deal with that I am not aware of?
If I could crossdress full-time, I totally would. Rikki is my CD'ing American Idol.
I am just trying to understand myself. My head tells me that I am a cross-dresser, there is no way that I am interested in a sex change, my body tells me that it was made for women's clothes, The two go together like peas in a pod. At times it feels so right that it is a bit scary. I don't know if I am progressing into another stage or what. I don't think of myself as a woman, and can't say that I want to be any thing other than who I am.
If it were to come down to a choice of wearing one type or the other full time I would have to give up my male clothes. as my body feels much healthier in woman's clothing. Yet I prefer to do all chores out side the home in male clothes, while I do every thing inside the home in women's clothes. I want my cake and I want to eat it too.
Last edited by Loretta Ann on Fri Mar 19, 2004 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
I don't know for sure that lack of acceptance gave me my autoimmune disease, but it seems to fit the facts (it seems almost impossible to pinpoint the causes of most diseases). I felt very unhappy and under a lot of job stress to boot, when it hit--about a decade ago. I can't imagine that happening today.
And I don't see your question as being critical of me.
Rikki is my CD'ing American Idol. 
