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It's good to write when you're feeling low. Keep doing it! It often helps me to write, either here or mostly in my journal. It's amazing what comes up. You wrote, "I do have some self-esteem issues although I shoudn't." I've been told my therapists that applying these "should's" and "shouldn't's" to ourselves doesn't help. Later, when we feel low, for example, and get down on ourselves because we "shouldn't" feel this way just doesn't help, it can make it worse. Another way to consider it is to mentally notice your feelings, like you're observing from a distance. How bad is it? What does it feel like in your body? Is it the same as before? Worse? Better? It's like you are examining it like you might a pair of shoes, a book, or whatever. Then, put it on the shelf (in your brain) and go on with your day, your friends, your life. These feelings will pass. Emma

Dear MichelleLea and Bree, About my housekeeping . . . I am very clean due to severe allergies. If I acquire a stain and can change my clothes, I do so, as I attempt to treat the stain as soon as possible with liquid Tide (any type) directly on the stain, which almost always come out in the wash. Do a "deep clean" once a week with the help of my home attendant, where we work side by side. Must confess I "cheat" and wear my socks, shorts/pants and shirt/blouse several days in a row unless I acquire a stain or perspire heavily and/or acquire an odor. As for women's cleanliness and frequency of changing clothes, from the point of view of a cisgender mid-butch Lesbian, who has been around many Straight and Lesbian women, this is a very individual thing, but, in general, feminine women are cleaner and change their clothes more often (according to the occasion). When I was in my relationship of ten years, we were friends with three other couples, and the fems couldn't wait to get to work on helping their butches with the diet, cleanliness and fashion! Yours truly, Monica