Stephani,
I'm glad you have the support of your therapist. Hopefully you have some local friends who are supportive as well, and of course we love you and support you here at TGGuide.
We all have different experiences of course, but I was able to make a sudden transition, literally overnight. I walked away from the old me (figuratively speaking) and emerged as the new me. It took awhile but I sort of merged my life history and worked things out the best I could. I made a conscious decision to just enjoy the process of transition and for the most part, I did. Sure, there were ups and downs and struggles along the way, but that helped me stay the course without losing my mind.
This might be a good topic for a post in the forums -- to see how everybody else deals with the emotional turmoil of transition, or just being transgendered.
Sending love and hugs.
~ Lori