The Flowers of transition - Bach Flowers for the Transgender and Transsexual Path

By Claudia Valsecchi

To what extent is it natural and to what extent is it cultural to be a woman or a man? And are the parameters that define the gender of a person really so scientifically accurate?

Today, the transgender phenomenon forces us to ask ourselves these questions, embarrassing the silent majority that unthinkingly accepts the rigidly binary vision of sexuality, which is useful to the patriarchal system under which we live. This is the root cause of the unequal treatment of people who are part of this system.

This self-help manual, through the flower essence therapy, wants above all to help people to cope with the problems, external, but also internal, caused by discrimination, which continues to affect and criminalize those who are "different." It will become the friend that you can always turn to, even when you are alone, because it is written in a way that makes it is easy to find the ailment that is bothering you and the flower that can help dissolve it.

The text accompanies and supports the transgender person in every step of the entire route, from an awareness of his or her own identity to the difficult relationships with others.

Since most of the problems are due to discrimination, the book can be of benefit to all those who have made an LGBTQ choice.

I dress regardless of the gender that I have been given;

I take hormones, I have altered my body surgically

Why discriminate?

Who have I hurt? Where are my victims?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Youcanprint
• Release date: Mar 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9788891177452

Book preview

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

For the realization of this book I first of all have to thank the staff of the Guidance Council in Torre del Lago, the President Regina Satariano, Dr. Massimo Lavaggi and the very kind Nadira Queiroz for their useful advice and for having placed at my disposal their informative material. Secondly, my heartfelt thanks go to my friends Darianna Saccomani and Isabella Stretti, who were not only very helpful in terms of information, but above all in providing indispensable clarifications.

Equally heartfelt thanks go to Paola Titonel who has spent much of her time with me on these pages, and to the many people, MtF and FtM, who prefer to remain anonymous, but who have revealed the sufferings they have experienced, enabling me to enrich the floral repertoire with many aspects and nuances. And last but not least, thank you to Michela Sanna, for her valuable help in reviewing the drafts.

For the English edition, I thank from the bottom of my heart my two translators -- Noor Giovanni Mazhar and Karen Lundquist -- for their professionalism and accuracy and the dedication that they put into this project.

The Author

FOREWORD

Transsexual is a term coined in this century to define those people who act the part of and identify with the opposite sex.

Given that objectively, sex as a chromosomal complex is immutable, this term has been gradually replaced by the term transgender, which is also more scientifically correct because it is gender identity, not genetic sex, that can be changed. The term transgender includes a broader range of types of people, such as those who feel that their psyche is not congruent with their gender, nor with the consequent social role assigned by the society in which they live. Individuals who make choices consistent with their own self-perception can be defined as transgender, regardless of the number of changes made to their bodies.

As President of the Transgender Counselling Association and the Tuscan representative in Italy of the Movement for Transsexual Identity, I have worked for many years on issues relating to transgender people, have assisted them and fought for their rights. I have willingly contributed to the drafting of this book, which is an important contribution to creating a positive culture on gender issues.

The Bach flower therapy used in the transition process helps transgender people courageously face a difficult condition of life. This book accompanies them on the psychological, medical and legal path they have to face in realizing their identity. It indicates deep flowers, but also supportive ones, because transsexual people often encounter a lack of understanding from their families, colleagues, friends and acquaintances. They are confronted by hostility for being themselves. They are subjected to the full impact of ignorance and prejudice and are discriminated against because they are considered different from the idea of normal. They are denied basic rights with regard to work, health and dignity. They fight to be free to live, not just survive, and freely express the gender identity that they perceive as their own. They want to free themselves from the burden of stereotypes and to be known and understood. They assert the legitimacy of their existence against those who want to reduce it to a delusion.

Transition periods are often tiring, because you feel the urge to go ahead and turn over a new leaf, but at the same time all your fears emerge. As a result, it becomes difficult to question the certainties that a person has built up to that time, despite the suffering. This often hinders speeding things up and saying That’s enough! I personally believe that this combination of thrust and resistance is somehow inevitable, but useful. Transitions are gradual, until you reach the point when, like a ripe fruit, you fall from the tree.

Together with the author, I hope that many people will find this book a valuable aid in their difficult journey.

Regina Satariano

INTRODUCTION

We owe the birth of this book to BT, who came to me a long time ago to get a little bottle of Bach Flower Remedies. She did not complain about any particular problems or discomfort, apart from a mild form of anxiety, which was, however, getting worse as she got closer and closer to the appointment for the vaginoplasty surgery that would have then entitled her to ask for sex reassignment surgery (SRS). This is something that should be taken seriously, because it is an irreversible operation. But BT had no doubts and was convinced that she was making the right decision.

She took the cocktail that I had prescribed for her for a couple of months, and when we met the second time she already seemed like a different person. Her anxiety had decreased, but above all she had identified the cause of her anxiety: the conversations she had been having with her women friends who were worried about her and discouraged her from going through with the surgery. They had been telling her stories about people who had undergone the operation, but something went wrong. They told her that the people who had undergone this surgery were anxious. She had simply let herself be influenced. Now she was just a little tense, which I would say was inevitable given the significance of the matter.

But what had amazed her was that gradually, as she took the flowers, many little things were falling into place, and it seemed as if they were doing so on their own. She had become less touchy and more secure, and less obsessive in her relationship with her partner, from whom she used to continually seek reassurance.

It was while I was preparing the second bottle for her that she said There is nothing, absolutely nothing in natural medicine for us transsexuals. And it is on account of that utterance that this self-help manual came into being.

It is not the transgender and transsexual people themselves who need special attention from the point of view of the Bach Flower Remedies, but the transition that TG and TS people go through, as it is fraught with obstacles and suffering. For either MtF or FtM, this is a path that involves difficult choices and decisions, which expose them to a very high risk of discrimination, even from their families, potentially leading to deep psychological distress. So the flowers, in general but especially Bach Flowers (see note), are especially suitable remedies for providing support and help in this situation. Because they act on the cognitive and emotional spheres, they make a person more lucid and stronger.

It is our hope that this little book will be of help especially to those who find themselves alone in facing difficult times and suffering. We hope that they may be able to identify in this book those flowers that can give them help, support, strength and courage.

Note

Individual flowers have been used since ancient times as therapeutic remedies, especially by shamans. Bach, however, was the first to conceive between 1929 and 1936 a wide-ranging system of care -- flower essence therapy -- based entirely on flowers.

After him, many other groups of flower remedies have arisen in other parts of the world.

FLOWER THERAPY

Flower therapy is system of flower remedies that directly uses the energy of nature through flowers and their extracts. Flower remedies are non-toxic, free of contraindications and side effects and can be used with other therapies, including allopathic treatments based on hormones, without interference or overlap. Anyone can use flower remedies, and they have successfully treated children, adults, the elderly, pets and even plants for nearly a century.

The flowers act mainly on negative mental and emotional states by triggering a process of self-awareness that allows you to complete the inner growth that would naturally occur if it had not been disturbed by aggression and conditioning suffered while growing up. Gradually, your personality is reorganized and you begin to rediscover a number of resources that seemed to be lost. And this rediscovery is reflected in your behavior, which becomes less demanding towards others and has a new inner strength that makes you feel positive and able to gain the respect of others. This perhaps is the aspect that most interests those people who go against an established order that doesn’t regard them.

Most of this self-help book deals with Bach Flowers (see note), which I believe are better able to encourage and maintain over time a true reorganization of thought, as well as emotional relationships that are healthier and more honest. During my years practicing, I have found the Californian flowers more suited to attack problems that deal with specific moments of life, but they don’t necessarily penetrate the entire personality. When the indications for use are the same, the Bach Flower Remedies will be preferred, as they represent 38 universal archetypal patterns of human nature, something that makes them suitable for everyone, regardless of age or culture. These flowers come mostly from pristine areas in England and from natural and non-poisonous bushes and trees. The other flower therapy systems that were discovered after Bach also include other types of plants.

The hardships and anxieties that T people face and that we deal with in this book are mainly due to discrimination, which exposes them to all types of abuse. Without discrimination, they would only have to deal with the problem of one day, needing to focus on their gender identity. This is certainly complex, but it should only concern a T person’s private life and should not have all the crazy effects that it does on society. Instead, insecurities and worries become almost obligatory. Yet society imposes them on anyone who is different and it is from these insecurities and worries that fears, suspicion, aggression and inhibitions arise, affecting even intimate relationships. These individuals no longer feel that they can simply be loved.

Never before in this field has Flower Therapy, which can be highly customized, served to inform and reassure, but above all to heal the relationships that T people have with themselves and that are constantly assailed. Flower therapy is almost always successful, but the most impressive results are those with people who are trapped and frightened. In these situations, flowers become true allies, and often completely unblock the situation.

Can you have good results if you use this book as a do-it-yourself manual? Yes, you can for many disorders and illnesses. However, it is difficult to push yourself into a deep transformational process, which you can maybe postpone to a later date and do it with an expert in Flower Therapy. This manual allows you to choose for yourself those remedies that will assist you and provide support in even prolonged times of trouble. We have included in the appendix of the book a guide for the correct dosages of the remedies, as well as instructions on how to prepare your own flower cocktails.

The book was designed and written specifically for the FtM and MtF transition path, but for the suffering caused by direct discrimination, it can be equally useful to all LGBTQ people.

Note

Individual flowers have been used as therapeutic remedies since ancient times, especially by shamans. However, Dr. Bach was the first to conceive, between 1929 and 1936, a system of multi-faceted treatment -- flower essence therapy -- based entirely on flowers. Later, many other groups of flower remedies arose, in various parts of the world.

In 1983, Bach flowers were recognized by the World Health Organization and since then, have been used in many hospitals in the UK, Australia and France, demonstrating