CLAUDIA VALSECCHI
THE FLOWERS
OF TRANSITION
Youcanprint Self-Publishing
The Flowers of Transition
Bach Flowers for the Transgender and Transsexual Path
With notes on Californian flowers
With the collaboration of Paola Titonel
Translated from the Italian by Karen Lundquist and Noor Giovanni Mazhar
2014 Claudia Valsecchi
ISBN: 9788891177452
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
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 "Thats 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
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 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.
