Thank you Inky and Anita for your thoughtful replies and support. One thing I realize now is that trying to suppress, bury, and ignore these feelings of shame for so many years doesn’t work. It just made me angry and bitter. I am learning that I need to accept these feelings and work on how to respond to them with more compassion. Inky, I like your idea of a ritual and also to embrace TG contributions to society. I tried support groups years ago but I don’t think I was ready at the time. Maybe I should give it a second chance. Anita, I’ve just started a book called “The Mindful Path to Self Compassion” that looks like what you talked about. Being more aware of emotions and then learning to respond with self compassion instead of negative labels. I know its not going to happen overnight but I appreciate both of you very much for your help.