My 13-year old daughter came to me a year ago and said she thinks she wants to be a boy. She said these feelings started the previous year (the start of the pandemic). I am being as supportive as I can with her cutting her hair short and wearing boyish clothing. She is going by a different name and using he/him pronouns with her group of friends and with 2 of her 6 teachers. She says she is not ready for me to yet because she's not quite comfortable enough. I worry that this being a different person for different people is going to cause her even more confusion about who she is. Her friends are starting to pull away from her, bonding more with each other and leaving her out. She doesn't want to do anything but sit on her ipad and draw or watch movies/shows/tiktok/youtube. It's all very difficult for me to watch because she is such a sweet, loving, sensitive child and only wants to be accepted. She is in therapy but we just started so it's too soon to tell. This is such a tough age already, but I feel this is becoming serious because she is so depressed and withdrawn and we can't seem to get past it. If anyone has gone through a similar situation, I'd greatly appreciate some advice. I'm more concerned about her low self-esteem than I am about her gender confusion. Or is one causing the other? I'm at a loss!
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