Filetternavn

joined 6 months ago
[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm not sure I understand why I shouldn't be alone with a psychiatrist? Beyond that, I'm in crisis. I'm extremely suicidal and self-destructive, and I need to be stabilized. That's exactly what these facilities are for: stabilization. To prevent me from hurting or killing myself until enough intervention can be done to get me to a place where I'm able to recover. I have a support plan in place for after discharge already. I worked through planning that today with my therapist. I don't really understand what you mean by finding a community. I'm involved in communities already, or is there something specific that you're implying?

 

For context, see my initial post here.

I've made a plan with my therapist, and I'll be admitting myself. I've also been advised that given some recent behaviors and events, it's in my best interest to be evaluated for bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder (yay ;-;). Whatever happens, I'm mentally prepared to step through the doors and allow myself to seek treatment. Maybe all I need is a change in medication, or a place where I feel safe enough to process my emotions and work through them. Regardless, I understand what to expect, and I'm confident that it's what I need right now. I can't get by just letting things happen as they are currently, because I'm only continuing to get worse without proper treatment. I'll likely make a new post when I'm discharged about my experience. See y'all on the other side.

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I've made a plan to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital with my therapist. The main point of this post was to hear experiences from other trans women who have been admitted before, either voluntarily (like myself), or involuntarily, and to mentally prepare myself to face the things that have been giving me anxiety about being admitted (as detailed in the post).

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thank you for your detailed response! I didn't get into depth in the post because it wasn't what I was looking for, but I have been actively suicidal for over a week now, and things have only gotten worse and worse. I understand it's a place where all my privileges are lost, and honestly, that's what I need. I already have a go bag of non-restricted items ready to go. I'm not able to work, I'm not able to take care of myself, I'm relapsing on nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis (which I was sober from since New Year's Day 2024), and I don't feel safe in my own home (transphobic parents who were severely abusive in my childhood), so it isn't a place where I feel I can even recover. My medications aren't doing shit, and I'm not able to see my psychiatrist enough to get it sorted out. I think what I do need is a place where I can fall to pieces for a week. Somewhere I'm not allowed the constant addiction of my phone which only ever triggers my spirals, but never alleviates them. A place where I can be kept safe from hurting myself, because I cannot trust myself to take that job on my own shoulders anymore.

I'll need to work out insurance details (though my insurance currently has covered all my psychiatric care in full; not even a copay), and I trust my therapist to find the best place for me, and I'd trust her opinion on whether or not I should go. I've heard lots of experiences similar to yours online. Although seeing a psychiatrist can range from weekly to daily depending on facility. I'll look more into the details of stay length, and I do know I need to ask my insurance about that because they may only cover the first X days, but I do already expect it to be expensive. But being in a state where I cannot even care for myself, let alone work, has proven to already be extremely expensive in itself.

 

If any trans women here have been admitted to a psychiatric ward, I'm looking for advice/experiences. My main concerns are the following:

  • Losing access to DIY HRT
  • Inability to shave, or is I can shave, having to be watched while doing it
  • Being strip searched
  • Transphobia from other patients and staff
  • Food

Context - I live in a blue part of Washington State, fairly progressive, and I'm working with my therapist to get a personal recommendation for a facility (she mostly treats LGBTQ+ patients, so I'll be asking specifically about that).

I currently take Estradiol Cypionate by injection, once per week as monotherapy. I've used a tool to estimate my E levels, and I've determined I could likely go 14 days before things get bad (below 100pg/mL), but obviously that would not be an ideal experience for me hormonally. I just tested my levels last week and my E came back significantly higher than I expected (could maybe go longer than 14 days), and my T levels were incredibly low (16ng/dL). So much so that I was planning to reduce my dosage this week, though I think I'll wait to reduce until after my stay in case it lasts longer than I expect. I am almost 100% not going to be able to get them to administer my DIY hormones to me, but if anyone else has had this experience, please comment. I think I've rationalized it enough that I wouldn't be devastated if I were denied access (or more accurately, when I am), assuming my stay isn't longer than 2 weeks. I'm worried that they'll see them and throw them away instead of just locking then up, which would be a big problem because shipping would take about 2 weeks and I don't even have the money for it right now.

However, I am quite concerned about shaving. Since I'll be a voluntary admission, I've heard there's sometimes leniency for supervised face shaving, but I'm also worried about being able to shave my body. Granted, I'll be wearing clothes that cover up all my skin, but the feeling of being unshaven is incredibly dysphoric for me. I could live with it, except for genital hair. I unfortunately have extremely sensitive skin, and I'm pre-op, so if I don't shave for a few days, I will get intense chaffing and irritation, which is the most dysphoric thing I have ever felt in my life. I would be in genuinely severe mental distress having to live like that. But even if I were granted some exception to let me shave there...I'd have to be supervised. And I'm having a really hard time trying to mentally prepare myself for someone watching me shave naked. Especially because I don't know if I'll be allowed to ask that it be a woman that supervises. I've been told it varies wildly from place to place for strip searches, and I assume it would be the same case here.

And then...there's being strip searched. Again, no idea if I can decide if a man or a woman watches me strip and reveal every square inch of myself, which is horrifying. I would feel mildly less mortified if my genitals matched my gender identity, but...I'm not there yet.

The fear of experiencing persistent transphobia while I'm there is also incredibly present for me, especially given that I'm nowhere close to passing. This will be my first time publicly presenting femininely but I think it's what's best for my mental health because it's exhausting having to hide myself in person when I have been open online for almost a year now, and on HRT for 5 months as of today. The only thing holding me back has been living with transphobic parents with a long history of abuse. There are two angles to the transphobia fear. The first is that there may be other patients admitted who are transphobic, and in severely deteriorated mental states, and the second is that staff could be transphobic, and they hold an immense power over me as a patient. Both are terrifying to me, and I don't know how I would deal with it.

And perhaps something more inconsequential is food. I have a milk allergy, so I'd need that to be accommodated, and I'm also autistic so I have a lot of food triggers. I'm worried about not being able to eat enough, to be honest.

None of these things are going to prevent me from admitting myself, I know I need help right now, and I need serious intervention to be able to recover and to keep myself safe...from myself. I'm not going to get into the details because that isn't what this post is about, I've just been having some anxieties about what it's going to be like, and the chances of me leaving the hospital severely traumatized.

If any of you have been through it, what has it been like for you? Any advice?

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I'm not suggesting this, only explaining what I'm currently doing. I'm doing what another commenter referred to as "weight cycling". I started losing weight in December by starting a restrictive 500 calorie deficit (I calculated my daily expenditure at 1850 calories, so I ate 1350 a day). I stuck to a high protein diet to feel more full from my food. I lost from 150 to 125 over the course of 13 weeks (~2lbs/week) at 5'9". I started my HRT in January, about a month after I started my cut. About halfway through my cut, I started intermittent fasting, so 16 hours without eating each day, which helped me significantly. I did not have cheat days during my cut. I got to a point where I was fairly happy with my waist, but I still had nothing in my thighs, butt, or hips. I'd always planned to maintain for a couple weeks and start gaining again, and I have. Most of it is still going to my waist, so I will be cycling again (and probably will repeat for a long time until my body is consistently storing fat in the right places). I did start exercising halfway through; intense cardio (cycling) for 60+ minutes 4 days/week, and bodyweight abs and glutes exercises 1 day/week. After recalculating my daily expenditure, I bumped my calories up to 1800/day.

I can tell that fat distribution is going to be a struggle for awhile, but it's hard to say how long. Though I will continue weight cycling throughout my gradual journey through HRT. The reason I'm not specifically suggesting this to you is that it is very difficult to maintain the kind of discipline I had to during my cut, especially with exactly 0 cheat days. Intermittent fasting helped me significantly (and there is lots of research to back up why that is), and I'll most certainly be doing that during my future cuts. I've heard that having consistent daily calories eventually plateaus weight loss, and there is some method out there that helps you split it into different calorie limits for each day of the week that supposedly helps mitigate that? Haven't tried that myself, so I can't attest to it, though it may be useful depending on how much you're looking to lose.

Regardless of what you end up doing, I wish you the best in your journey! I know firsthand how much of a struggle it is, but we'll get there eventually!

EDIT: As a side note, I lost 5" around my waist from my cut! (Though some of that has come back now that I'm gaining again)

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Moot point, as DoorDash driver accounts require a verified driver's license, comprehensive background check, and a valid bank account set up to deposit payment (though after setting up a direct deposit bank account, you can add alternative cash out options). Haven't used DoorDash in a while, but UberEats started requiring facial recognition on top of all that, so I wouldn't be surprised if that were in the DoorDash driver app, too. Hiding IP would do quite literally nothing in this scenario, as you can't create an account anonymously. Counterfeit IDs would not work as they are verified against state records. Oh, and yet another step, you have to provide proof of auto insurance, which is yet another connection to your identity.

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Surveys like these do often have implicit bias, because only a small portion of people would be willing to take them when offered. For instance, phone surveys dramatically overrepresent Republicans because almost all the people who choose to complete them are quite old. Additionally, people with more extreme views are more likely to complete political surveys than people with moderate views, especially those who aren't very interested in politics. These are all biases that are difficult to account for.

Honestly, yes. I definitely agree that this is the way to go.

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Regardless of the tone, the opinions he is discussing and the ways that he represents his views are inherently transphobic. He and his views are a threat to us at Blahaj Lemmy, being a space for queer folks (many of us are trans). He is also the lead developer of Lemmy, and the head admin of lemmy.ml. A statement does not have to be framed as a direct insult to be hateful and harmful, and the fact that these views of his have been persistent, along with his influence, means that he as a user is dangerous. Hence why he has been banned from this instance. The question being discussed is really if his views are reflected into the community and moderation at lemmy.ml, because that is the point at which the instance is harmful enough to defederate from. If lemmy.ml is a place where transphobia is allowed to propagate, then that is immensely harmful for us. We need to protect ourselves against transphobia.

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

What about !linux@programming.dev or !linux@sh.itjust.works? Those seem decently active.

The former of the two (which is also the larger of them) has 13% of the userbase, although you're correct that it does seem fairly active. I suppose that would be a decent place to migrate to if defederation were to happen, although I tend to mostly help out new users, who tend to flock to the larger community. Again, I'd figure it out if it happened, it wouldn't actually be a problem. The latter of the two I would not consider very active by comparison.

That is a minor drawback. It would be nice if they implemented ownership transfer abilities for posts and comments, though it'll probably be a while before we see that.

Yes, this is one of the grievances I had when migrating here from lemmy.world, as I have some very detailed and helpful comments I wish were easier for me to find. I'd love to see that as a feature in the future, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

I can see how and why this would be a problem and why this should be carefully considered, that can be a poor outcome. I guess the same can be said for any defederation including the feddit.uk one. It all depends I guess on how they handle these issues going forward and also how they handle this subject overall. If a lot of the people there are "I support trans people but I don't think kids..." (you get the idea) it doesn't really do much good to federate with them. At least in my opinion.

Yes, I agree here. What I suppose I'm basically trying to say is that defederation is an extreme option, so it has to be considered carefully. If the community on ml starts to reflect transphobic views, then absolutely that would warrant defederation. But if it's a single admin, and it's otherwise being moderated to remove transphobic content, then I do think it's really difficult to determine without a lot more consideration. In most other situations, banning a single transphobic user may be sufficient. It all depends on how his views are reflected in the moderation and the content of the community as a whole. If it's resulting in transphobia, then it becomes a much more clear case. I don't have enough information to know if that is in fact the case.

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 1 month ago (3 children)

lemmy.blahah.zone does not allow downvotes. And the concern is moreso that some transphobic content wouldn't be moderated (based on nutomic's views), hence the burden of moderation would come down to our instance's admins, and that simply shouldn't be their responsibility. Defederation is for situations in which the instance in question is harmful to the community in the instance defederating. And if transphobia is not properly moderated, and transphobic views are allowed to spread, then that is actively harmful to lemmy.blahaj.zone.

[–] Filetternavn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I mean, the two big communities for me are !linux@lemmy.ml and !mechanicalkeyboards@lemmy.ml, though the latter of which isn't really active anyway so I wouldn't be sad to see it go. There isn't a suitable replacement for the Linux community elsewhere, and that's honestly what I'm most active on, but if we defeferate, I'd probably just cut my losses. Yes, it is easy for people to create new accounts, but the hassle is that you cannot transfer your comments or posts to a new account, so you lose that history (as I've had to deal with). But overall, I think most people on ml would just stop seeing posts from our instance and never think about it. It would be a small minority that would even notice, but the majority would be getting less content from diverse voices in the queer community overall. Again, it would just take a lot of consideration.

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