This is a question I am sure has been brought up before, and is a concern for some of us.
What kind of struggles did those of us go through that fall into this category.
For myself, I stopped drinking at 38 and I am a recovering alcoholic of 25 years this Oct. I used drugs but mostly alcohol as a means of suppressing that which in my generation was a tabu. Feeling totally separated from myself, falling into a macho image that would leave no one expecting my true desire. Besides in the 60's I never thought I would see my way through my twenties.
My true journey into this life did not start to be dealt with until shortly after I quite drinking. That is when I truly looked inside of myself and decided I had to be true to myself, and quit living a lie. There was no internet. Just a support group that I finally found that made me feel like I was not alone in this world. I was amaze at how far reaching this life style was and would be come. There is a saying in AA.......................................
" God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference."
Any other thoughts......Tammy

Karen,
I am glad to hear that you have come to terms with yourself without mind altering substances. For myself, I was beyond self help, that's when I tried to end things for the first time........far to permanent for a temporary condition. Even with that knowledge and the tools that AA gave me, I still made a second serious attempt at doing it again a few years ago. It is so easy to slip into depression, and not even realize it. That is the importance of a group. I used AA and there twelve step program for more than substance abuse. The core of the twelve step program is the inventory steps...fourth to the eleventh step( at least for myself) if they are done right with self truth, one can find a lot of our own answers that dwell within us. This is what worked for me, and with out side therapy, and Crossroads.
I sent you the name, and contact person, of some groups in our area, via messenger. Like Crossroads in Royal Oak, which meets once a month, you can go dressed or in drab, they'll be just glad to see you. ( I strongly urge this meeting) Or Affirmations for the GLBT community, also in Royal Oak. Now they used to have a meeting that you could go to dressed, but it has been so long since I have been there that you would have to call. And Tri Ess but that one is a little farther away close to Lansing. I thought I would post this in case there is someone from this area that maybe interested.
Hope this helps, and let me know.....Tammy

Great Karen, I am glad you will make use of that info. Crossroads will really help you bring Karen out to her full being. Don't be afraid of going in drab to just get a comfort level with everyone, but you will find everyone very supportive, with a wealth of information for you. And if their is a S.O. in your life, they used to have a support group just for them also. I can't say enough about the group.
I did not realize that the UK"s drug problem started in the 80's Rose. I thought that it was just as commonplace every where in the industrialized world, as it was in the US, thanks for the info.
The 80's were a time to be groovy and to be turned on for sure. But the problem really got it's started over hear in the 60's, due to the hippie movement, war demonstrations and the famous Dr. Timothy Leary, the icon of the drug culture and promoter of LSD.
There also was the drug influence from the US troops coming home from Vietnam. Australian, New Zealand and Korean troops were over there but not enough to make a difference in those countries drug use, at least to my knowledge.
Ironically by the 80's was when I reached my bottom. I was 38 in 1984 and just got tired of hiding from the past and who I was, that is when I started to deal with life on it's terms, and the start of my journey bringing Tammy out of the closet, with the help of Crossroads.
Good luck Karen and keep me updated......Tammy
OBTW Karen, I used to have a very dark beard also, laser worked well but I had to use electrolysis also, not the most pleasant experience, as many here already know.

Thanks for the info Rose, interesting links. Gosh, what I find so very interesting is, that Khat is illegal here in the States, but Salvia Divinorum is legal in this country. Here is a link describing this stuff......this plant is wicked.......I have seen it's effects..... http://www.articlesbase.com/meditation-articles/salvia-divinorum-1069567.html .....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_divinorum
Thanks again...Tammy

First off, congrats to you who have conquered their drug abuse problem. =)

But if I may, since the topic strayed a bit from trans substance abuse, the problem is not the drugs themselves but the mindset in which they are used. People can be responsible alcohol drinkers just as they can be a responsible LSD user. One thing is for sure, which was proven not only in the 20s in the US with prohibition but also with the effects of the worldwide drug war today, criminalizing any substance not culturally/morally acceptable has been a terrible mistake. If we wanted to realistically curb drug abuse the proper avenue would be knowledge-based education about proper drug use with realistic regulations rather than a fear/morality based criminal system. We literally create the black market which is immediately filled by organized crime to take advantage of rather than having control and regulation of it ourselves. Our laws mostly affect users and small-scale dealers while hardly denting the global drug trade, and we never will... for every big bust, the competition simply fills the gap. It boggles my mind how silly the idea is, and it really pains me to think about how many lives have been ruined or lost to this ridiculous crusade.

That said, I think substance abuse is a dreadful avenue for people from all walks of life to ignore or alleviate their problems temporarily. It would make sense that transpeople might have a higher incident rate of drug abuse based on this pretty simple observation. Personally I have my substance USE, specifically psychedelics, to at least partially thank for my outlook on life and my decision to transition. They helped me conquer multiple patterns of behavior and bad habits which made me a more miserable person. Not to condone any drug use, you should be thoroughly informed about the risks of anything you choose to ingest (like we try to do with alcohol and tobacco), but you have a right to make your own decisions.

Thanks Irielle,
I cannot agree with you more. If they just stopped the war on drugs and concentrated on the legalization and education we would be much further ahead. Not counting the revues, and safety of the product that would occur. The money that is spent on the so called war on drugs could be put to much better use, ( not even, considering the fraud ) just look at what happened to prohibition, it just does not work. Now Amsterdam has a lower incidence of drug abuse in relation to percentages of the population than the U.S.
If alcohol and tobacco were just hitting the market place today, the people that would spread the fear propaganda, would try and make it illegal. ( we know who these people are )
And yes it did stray a bit from Trans abuse, but information never hurts in relation to the Trans people and the general world.
Thanks....Tammy

Thanks for the contact info Tammy. I will use it.
As for us meeting before I dought it. I've never been active in the TG community.
I've never been able to go out as Karen. I've had 6 laser treatments on my beard so far & it's still so thick & dark I have to shave daily.

Rose I'm sure drugs were around you just wern't aware of them. When I first started getting into it I found them in places & from people I never would have thought of. Respectable people to. Buisness owners, counselors, teachers, were using them every day without anyone knowing.

I've been there. The only time I had the courage to be myself was when I was on drugs. Only when I was high would I not care what others thought of how I looked or behaved.
I haven't touched drugs since Augast of 97. I have drank some & evan been drunk twice so no I'm not perfect, but I'm not killing myself anymore. TW showed me how to live with myself & Karen as one.
I live in Warren & would be intrested in a support group.

to put things into context in the UK I doubt if drugs were readily available locallay until maybe 1980...before that there were a few people addicted to various prescription drugs but not too many...binge drinking was the main sports for many and then they could only afford it on a Friday or Saturday night which was where all their own and their women's black eyes came from...I worked with a youn guy who binge drank and one Xmas he drank so much it blew his mind and he's not been right since...now we have lots of proper druggies from all the stuff thats flooding the country...over here we have to use Gender Clinics that are usually staffed by the same shrinks who treat all the other loonies which is why they see us as loonies too...

No...drugs not generally available...I had a look back at the local paper's court reports and very few drug related cases until the 80's...before 80s the ages were so low that there wasn't drug money available for most folk...it was the sudden inflation or whatever of the devaluations that caused people to suddenly have drug money...plus the sudden popularity of foreign travel that made drug smuggling possible...plus the nanny stae wasn't in existnce then and the penaltis for drugs were jail..not therapy...

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/debate/myths/myths4.htm
http://www.druglibrary.org/SCHAFFER/Library/studies/dwda/staff7.htm

here's a couple of sites with info of British drug use...feeling was it was a big city problem in those days..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/extra/series-1/smuggling_drugs_khat.shtml
this khat stuff is what Africans chew because of the basic struggle for existence in lcaes like Somalia but why they need it in UK is a mystery to me...should be banned but they claim Human Rights to keep importing it...I'm inclined to say if they want to chew khat they can go home and chew it...

Tammy...thanks for that link..Salvia conjured up images of a plant with pretty red flowers...but internet goes into details of its drug effects..disassociative...etc...who knows if the herbal smokers are using it to get high...there are various herbal mixtures available for smoking over here...I don't smoke or do driugs so they have no interest but as there couple fo shops with all the funny little pipes I'll have a look next time I'm able to get there..