Hi there people, I’m pretty new here (just joined) although I do recall being a previous member many years ago.
I’m a 45 year old Transgender (mtf) person who has lived experience of severe childhood sexual abuse and trauma, ptsd, physical violence and emotional abuse.
(all of this at the hands of my parents and people they knew).
My reasons for joining here are mainly to connect with people who possibly understand me better than those who
I’ve been working with (agencies such as NEAMI, Cohealth etc).
These agencies I have found have not provided adequate supports for my needs, even though my needs are really not that complex or hard to address.
People seem to pre-judge me as someone who “has it together” or is “very much seemingly well for someone who is unwell” (these are both things that have been said to me by previous workers).
I struggle though, like a lot of us do, and I need guidance with certain areas, yet it seems that this is “too hard” for people to understand, or the people are just uneducated.
For me to come to a place within myself where I am happy, not thinking about ending my life every single day etc, I believe it wouldn’t actually take much, but it seems that this is not the case within Victoria at least. People seem to find a way of making things harder for me when they really don’t need to be!
In regards to my transition progress, I’ve been completely ignored by the system and services and people who were supposed to help and guide me, and my transition has suffered and is at a current state of stagnation because of it.
Services in Victoria seem to be lackluster at best, and there tends to be a liking for a certain “type” of person within these services who gets the help, not everybody who needs it.
Yes, funding is one issue, but also employing qualified people who know what the hell they’re doing is another, and in my experience Victoria has failed on both counts there.
Why not move? Where would I go that’s any better? I also have a relationship here in Melbourne that I cannot just move away from, my girlfriend would be devastated and that’s not what I want, it’s the one thing that I am happy with.
I’m open to explaining more if people wish to know, give you a deeper insight into my experience here, and throughout life, but please be mindful
when asking for that - some of it has been very unpleasant and I like to be 100% honest and truthful on my front which sometimes can come off as being too much for some people.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
