Trans stories are far more diverse than those we often read in mainstream media. As transgender people, we come to discover ourselves as trans in a wide variety of ways. Then, the paths we choose in transitioning, are equally as varied. However, it is all too common to hear just one kind of transgender narrative, and not be aware of the huge diversity that exists within our community. In this blog post, I share four book recommendations* which help to highlight the wonderful diversity within our community.
The phalloplasty journey is very much an epic adventure! Like every great adventure, it has taught many lessons and brought much personal growth. I have changed in many profound ways during my phalloplasty journey, and not just outwardly In the following blog post, I share the top 5 things I have learned about myself, and about my body, since having my phalloplasty surgery.
Radial forearm phalloplasty leaves a rather large scar on the arm, which can be difficult to deal with. Tattooing skin graft scars is an option many transgender people choose, to help hide the scar. In this blog post, I will answer questions on tattooing skin graft scars, sharing advice from my own skin graft tattoo experience.
Mental health routines are incredibly helpful in looking after our general wellbeing. Using daily mental health routines gives a sense of structure, and using routines to deal with specific events, can help us to have a sense of control. In this blog post, I discuss different types of routines and provide some suggestions to create your own routines for mental health.
If you are aiming to have phalloplasty surgery, it is a good idea to plan way ahead of time. There is an enormous amount of mental and physical upheaval involved in the phalloplasty journey. By planning ahead, you will be able to cope better with the surgery and look after yourself well in the recovery between stages. In this blog post, I share 5 helpful tips, on practical and emotional aspects, to prepare for phalloplasty.
For those of us who live with anxiety, traveling anywhere can be incredibly difficult. Whether a short or long journey, the anxiety can be so great that it holds us back from going anywhere alone. Often, we cannot overcome anxiety, but we can find ways to manage it. One helpful way to manage anxiety is to create an anxiety travel kit.
Phalloplasty is a complicated procedure taking many years to complete. Deciding to go ahead with the surgery was a difficult decision. However, it’s a decision that I am now very happy to have made. In this blog, I map out my phalloplasty timeline. Linking to key videos from my journey, this blog starts from my initial decision to have surgery, through to referral, the operative stages, and completion.
A New Year tradition of mine is to share my personal review of the year gone by. I realize of course that 2020 was on the whole a pretty bad year. However, nothing in life is black and white, in every bad event there are positives to be found. I shared in a recent blog how we can find the positives, by using tools for reflection. In this blog, I want to share my own reflections and positives, my personal highlights of 2020. These are my most memorable moments, and my business and personal achievements from 2020.
Happy New Year! New Year is a time where lots of us make resolutions. However, what often happens is that within a couple of months those New Year resolutions are forgotten. In this blog, I’m going to talk about why resolutions fail and why making time for New Year reflection, is a more productive way to start a year.
For those of us who have mental health challenges, winter can often be a tough time. The cold, the grey days, and the lack of sunlight, in general, can play havoc with our mental health. Christmas approaching can often bring a lot of additional stress and pressure. And of course this year we have the coronavirus pandemic complicating this even further. In this blog, I will share some of the strategies and tools* I am using to survive the double hit of winter and the pandemic.
Five years ago, I had a skin graft taken from my arm, as part of the first stage of my phalloplasty surgery. One of the worries of forearm phalloplasty, concerns how the arm recovers and the outcome of the scarring. In this blog, I will reflect on the healing of the graft and function of the arm over these 5 years.
Every day something happens to us that we can’t control or change, and this can understandably cause us a lot of pain. But what is really causing our pain, is it the thing that happened, or is it our resistance to it? And, if we don’t resist these things, does acceptance mean we are just passively giving in? In this blog, I want to clear up some misunderstandings of acceptance and show how learning to practice acceptance can greatly improve our mental wellbeing.