What's the longest you've gone without crossdressing?

[Daniel]

What's the longest you've gone without crossdressing since starting?

For me, if you count the period I felt guilty about this, five months. If not, then three weeks.

[Gelinda]

Well, I did it when I was in high school then I went in the military and I stopped for over 20 years, until one night when the duress of dressing came over me. Doing off and on since then. Gee

[Beauty]

Hi Daniel,

2-4 years for me. I decided I wanted to meet a woman and the only way I could do it was to put this side of me away. Very stupid of me.

Beauty

[Loretta Ann]

8 Very good years, and then better years yet after I restarted. Getting better as time goes on.

[Grace]

At one point in the late '70's, I decided I'd "conquered" my need to CD, and that all I had to do was channel my mind in other directions when the urge arose. It worked for a little over 12 months, at which point the urge became so strong that nothing I could do could prevent me from returning to it. When I did, I felt a huge sense of relief, like taking a breath after being under water for a couple of minutes.

About four years ago, I was going through a battering divorce. I overheard my soon-to-be-ex talking to a friend about my CDing an her friend's husband's foot fetish. The friend was scheming on how long to go before filing for divorce, and both were making various uninformed, unenlightened, and unkind remarks about their husbands' behavior. My wife was a bit more aware, but obviously not accepting (though she'd known about it for several years before we married and had seemed to be accepting for many years). Anyway, that shocked and embarrassed me, and I went into a deep introspection that got me back to what I thought were the roots of my desire. I then erroneously concluded thated, I finally understood it and therefore would no longer be in the grips of the desire. I was able to stay away from it for around 16 months. Then the same overwhelming and irresistable urge overcame me, and when I put on lipstick and then put on a dress, I felt at home, for the first time in those 16 mohths. Obviously, denial doesn't work. We are who we are and it is much better to simply accept it.

Grace

[Virginia]

Sorry, I can not really answer that as I am still drawing up memeories from my childhood that may or may not have related to my crossdressing. Since the fundamental gift began to very strongly express itself in the past two to three years, I have always worn some aspect of feminine garb and make -up almost every day and I definitely carry the feminine aspects with me all the time.
Virginia

[Paulie]

Hard for me to answer that one also.... I guess it would prob be somewhere around 2-6 months.
Grace's comments really struck me, tho. I've been down that road in the past. Feeling guilty and purging, proclaiming having "conquered" the feelings.
Doesn't work.... and never will! We are who we are, and should be happy with ourselves. I enjoy dressing far too much to deprive myself of it. And I'm certainly happy to have all the items I have accumulated over the years. I may have something that I haven't worn in some time, but it's nice to see the choices I have when I dress.

[Danette]

Hi Daniel,
2 to 4 years was My answer as I was in the Marines in My younger years. I think they would have been upset with Me had they known. But it was sometimes months at a time, do to My job. I sometimes had to share a room with a co-worker to cut down expences.

Hugs,
Danette

[Elizabeth]

Daniel,

Before I answer, I need a clarification on what definition of crossdressing you are using. I underdressed for years, or put on girls underwear just at night. Does that count? Or are you talking about actually being all the way dressed?

Thanks in advance.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[CJ]

Hi all,

Assuming Daniel meant "fully dressed," I answered 2-4 years. I underdress fairly often (although not much, recently) but show myself in all my glory? Rarely. The longest I've gone without dressing (and this includes underdressing) is about three years. I was on a "hermit trip" at the time, hitchhiking around the country, working odd jobs, writing, writing, writing, and sleeping wherever I could lay my weary bones to rest. Not much privacy and even less access to women's clothing. Sometimes I missed it but, usually, it just never popped into my mind (I also have to say I went without sex for those three years--I was abstinent; this might've played a part in my not thinking about dressing).

Love,
CJ

[Jadeanne]

Hi all,

I stopped at age 18, when I graduated from high school, then restarted 33 years later.

Jadeanne

[Nikki]

I stopped dressing in 1994, only a few weeks after beginning therapy with an LCSW. My journal from that time reflects my belief that my dressing was an attempt to recreate the feelings of humiliation and shame I experienced as a child when my parents found me dressed in my mother's girdle. I stopped because I believed my CD'ing was an attempt to hold on to negative emotions from my childhood and that somehow by stopping, I'd be free.

And now the results <drumroll please> ..... It didn't work!

I spent two pretty miserable years until I started dressing again. I had purged loads of clothes and ALL my shoes. I won't ever do that again.

[Daniel]

...interesting. The geometric average seems to be a few years. Who knows, maybe by the time I'm 40 I'll have done a three-year fast. Still, this is higher than I thought it would be.

And that it can come back after more than 20 years... good thing I made my poll options go as high as they did.

Just one who's been dressing every day since starting and the rest have gone at least two weeks. Odd...

And I meant any form of dressing. Wearing panties to bed counts.

So... anyone crossdressed and then gone FIFTY years without it, then restarted? Should I have listed options of "20-49 years" and "50 years or more"?

[Darla]

the longest i've gone without dressing was about five months, and it wasn't because i didn't want to dress it was because my brother caught me wearing my moms underwear when i was twelve, so i took a break from it so he would have time to forget about it.

[Sheena]

Thats a hard one!!! When I was 18 till about 21, i did'nt dress much at all. I got the urge alot because I was living with my pop and nanna. Recently though, in the last 5 weeks I've been dressing everyday non stop, my nightgowns are my first priority everynight.