Coming out, disclosing to people in our lives

Let's talk about coming out of the closet. For starters, here are some links:

Wikipedia: Coming out
Astraea's Web: Coming out Multiple, Guest article by Bob King/Firewheel
Pavilion Library: Hondas' Guide to Coming Out as Multiple
DeviantART: LB's Guide to Coming Out Multi

Lol I wish I was at this stage. I'm still at the waiting for diagnosis stage. Then I will move to acceptance. Then I will move to telling family, at which point I'm freaked they will think I'm lying or just trying to get attention. If it ever does come to this, I think I would want help from my T in discussing it with them. Do you think a T would do this, or do they usually want you to find the strength to do it yourself?

I've only come out to a few select people, and I intend to keep it that way. While I enjoy the freedom and understanding I have with those few people, I've found that those close to me will have a better chance of understanding and not becoming scared or weirded out by me. That, and those not as close to me rarely need to know. I'm more open about things that I can often experience in public, such as my PTSD due to its triggers, and that seems to be fine with the people that don't know me very well. For me, it's like diving into a pool of cold water. I don't want to do it, I'm scared to do it, but I know it'll feel refreshing after that initial plunge so I just have to take a deep breath and go for it. And that's what I do. I tell people that I'm close to and spend a lot of time with, and I'm upfront about it before I date anyone. I want people to know what they're getting into when they date me, because for me it's better to scare them off sooner than later. I used to hide it from people I'd date, but it got to be too difficult, and it was hard explaining things that would happen during a switch.

I am not around many people, but those I am I have let know what I have. Otherwise they freak out when they see me convulse, the facial expressions, just the whole thing. I have nothing to hide. I have done nothing wrong.

I have recently "come out" with my best friend of 5 years. She took it well, and even said she'd already suspected, which is interesting and I'm waiting to hear back from her exactly how that was the case!

Bourbon