Losing people because of transitioning

Before and during your transition you will more than likely lose friends and family.

Not everyone in your life will support or respect your decision to transition. It’s important you know that lack of acceptance from someone else is a reflection on that person, not you. You are transitioning for you, to create a better and more comfortable life for yourself, not for the approval of others.

Early on in my transition a lot of “friends” I had decided my choice to transition was too much for them to support. They didn’t respect the use of my new name or pronouns, and created a lot of issues for me in and out of work. It was really depressing and hurtful, and honestly made me feel like I made the wrong decision with transitioning. That’s when I had to take a step back and re-evaluate why I went ahead and transitioned. I made it so I could live my life authentically, if that meant losing people, then that’s what it meant.

Of course, this wasn’t an overnight realization, and it wasn’t one that came without the obvious loss of importance to other people, but it was necessary.