I just moved to a new area, which is right on the border between a red state and a blue state (living on the blue side, of course), and I'm looking to set up healthcare appointments. I can search for providers through my insurance, but there's basically no information on them. I would expect that the average medical professional would be more accepting than the average person, but I would still like to increase my chances of finding an accepting provider, since there are definitely phobes around. Are there any tips I can use to help with that?

I'm losing my mind over this. XD

When I was growing up, my parents had ice cube trays made of solid plastic, with trapezoid shape so the cubes pop out when you twist it. Those trays lasted through my entire childhood and worked great. I want to buy ones like that (either made of thick plastic like that or metal that's flexible enough to twist like that). But I've never seen them in stores, and after scouring the internet I can't find any like that online either. Everything looks like the same sorts of flimsy materials that I know will break quickly, or is square metal so the cubes won't pop out like that. Does anyone know where I can find trays like that?

Hi,

I'm a recently cracked egg, and I figure I might as well introduce myself here.

I made it to age 31 before I figured it out. I've been dating a trans girl for over 3 years before realizing that I also am one, so I'm coming into it with a lot of knowledge, and as soon as my mind was opened to it I very quickly became sure of it. On the plus side, that means that I don't have any doubts about it myself.

So far I've told my girlfriend, therapist, parents, and some online friends. Mostly they've taken it well (My therapist and girlfriend were apparently expecting it before I realized it myself), although my dad has been somewhat resistant. I've been trying to convince him that it's right for me, with moderate success. I think I will be able to bring him around, with some more time. I've been too chicken to tell others that I know IRL, so far.

Also... now is not really a great time to be transitioning, given the current state of the world, especially the US (where I live). I think I definitely want to go ahead with it anyways, but I'll probably take some time before I pull the trigger on a social transition, and try to prepare some things beforehand. In particular, I want to do voice training in advance, and probably work on some fashion and makeup skills so I can immediately transition my voice and surface level appearance when I social transition.

I don't know if my new employer (starting next month) will be accepting of it, either, so maybe I want to work that job for a bit to get experience and test the waters before I decide how to proceed. I probably want to get some experience from that job before I bounce from it, so it would be ideal if they are accepting.

I found out about SDAM recently and it seems like I definitely have it, and from everything I've heard it has a lot of overlap with aphantasia. I'm wondering if it's even possible to separate them or they're part of the same thing.

I'm curious if anyone here has the experience of aphantasia without SDAM, and what their experience is like if that's the case. Like, how does one read those episodic memories without a mind's eye?