It is exhausting and overwhelming when you have a child who is transgender, though it’s not the fault of the child. It’s due to the abundance of ignorance in society. While @JLeslie is correct that it is much better for my son now that we live in a diverse and liberal city, it still doesn’t erase many issues that he must still deal with. For lack of a better phrase, he still deals with inner turmoil.
Our son still experiences depression at times because he doesn’t have the body his brain tells him he needs. He’s suffered lung damage due to binding his chest, which makes us worry about Covid more so than for the usual teenager. He still avoids public restrooms which means he holds his urine which is horrible for his bladder. He still gets misgendered which is very difficult for trans people to deal with. We also lost friends and family because they either didn’t support us or our “issues” were just too much to deal with.
Then there is the subject of suicide. He used to cut himself in the beginning and there were countless nights when I couldn’t sleep because I knew he was having suicidal thoughts. I felt lost and didn’t know what to do for him. He even came to us one night and asked to be admitted because he wanted to kill himself. Those thoughts have waned but that doesn’t mean they won’t come back.
I’ve spent countless hours educating myself and meeting other parents and adult trans people. We now have a wonderful support system in the trans community and they are family. I have a few friends who are trans adults and they still deal with bouts of depression and even thoughts of suicide. One lives in San Francisco, so even living in what would be considered the best city to live in for trans people doesn’t erase the hardships they live with daily.
One more thing. Bullying, physical assault and murder. These things are real issues we need to worry about. I hate to say it but I’m glad my son isn’t female. Trans females deal with much more hate.
https://www.hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-community-in-2021