How To Support a Friend Through Transition?

So you have a friend who is about to begin transition, and you're not sure how to best support them during this time. Often, the biggest assumption that is made about transition is that it will change the person, and who they are. And to some extent this is true, but the overall character of the friend you love, and adore will remain unaltered. Following are some things to keep in mind while they are transitioning:

1. Be Aware You may be beyond this point by the time your friend begins transition, but remember to always be aware, and empathetic to the sensitivity of the subject of their transition, if need be. Everyone reacts differently, with different levels of sensitivity, so do your best to accommodate your friends sensitivity level.

2. Be Patient While this obviously goes unexpected, there may be times when your friend is struggling through their transition, and needs reaffirming and at times a friendly pep talk. Emotions can become erratic when HRT goes fulltime, so try to be understanding, and patient with your friend, if need be.

3. Support, and Love Unconditionally If you are close friends, then you are the greatest strength a person can have through transition. Showing your friend unconditional love and support will go far to ease the feelings of rejection, and self-doubt they may feel while in the early stages of transition. It is a trying time of learning, and will often be accompanied by a sense of failure when times get tough. So being an unconditional supporter of your friend is the best way to help them through these early stages of learning.

4. Give Constructive Criticism Being a friend, you have the ability to be honest, and being able to do so with little offense taken. If you are a woman, and your friend is also a woman(MTF)(or you are a man and your friend is also a man(FTM)), then you are in a good position of authority to help direct your friend in areas of dress and presentation, where they may seemingly fail. If you think you can help your friend through transition by giving them constructive criticism, then you are a real friend... with real benefits... because constructive criticism is the stuff that grows people, and helps them to advance, with a soft push in the right direction.

5. Show Complete Acceptance Showing your friend that you accept them completely, will help them to be more comfortable with your feedback, and also boost their morale, and self-esteem. If you can be accepting, supporting, patient, loving, and critical in times when needed, then you prove yourself not only to be a good friend, but also a person of much consideration, humility, and an overall stellar character. There is much involved along the path of being an observer of a friend's transition, more than what can be spoken about here... but following these simple guidelines may help you to be as good a friend as possible.. the rest will be found in your experiences and history.