Look in the mirror

Have you ever encountered a mirror, especially a full length one, unexpectedly and *really* seen yourself?

Most of the time when we look at a mirror, we are checking details and ignore the "overall" picture.

But when you have that unexpected encounter, you see things without the usual filters. It can be a bit of a shock.

First time it happened to me was in my first apartment. There was a full length mirror in the bathroom and one day after a shower I turned just the right way and saw myself in it. Suddenly, I realized that I wasn't a scrawny kid anymore.

Many years later after a dom friend encouraged me to try cross-dressing, I had it happen a number of times while working for a friend fixing computers. The mens room there had a full length mirror inside the door. You opened the door and there you were. If the lights weren't on, the shadows made it easier to miss that it was a mirror.

One day, I opened that door and saw myself as a woman (in spite of wearing men's clothing at the time). That was another shock/surprise. Had that sort of thing happen several times. Sometimes I saw a guy, sometimes I saw a gal.

So if you ever have one of those moments, go with it.

ps. I understand that some folks with various kinds of dysphoria have something that's pretty much the opposite occur. They look in a mirror and see something that isn't reality but instead something very negative. More or less *all* filter, and bad filters at that.

While not having experienced that, I suspect the way to tell the difference is how you feel about what you see. If it's a surprise, but just "different", it's probably the reality view.

If it makes you feel bad, it's more likely the filters getting carried away.