So I pushed myself more than others in all the usual denial ‘real man’ things like rugby, weight-training, athletics, acting a like real man’s man; and when I got to employment age: construction work. Pushing through the pain barriers in sports activities was a regular thing for me. As my therapist worded it perfectly: - “Like I was trying to hurt it out of myself”. In all honesty, all that did was cause me to have crumbling vertebrae and squashed discs in my spine in later in life. I now have impingement and calciferous tendonitis in both shoulders, rendering them almost useless today. I have lost 2 inches in height due to heavy manual exercise and work, and I have occupational arthritis in both my feet, to a degree where I had to have surgery to remove it last year.
Denial activities are a dangerous thing. That being said... I wouldn’t be where I am today in business and property, without this urge to do better, in case people find out I am transgendered. Had they found out though, I wanted them to think “crikey, but look how well he/she’s done”.