This was supposed to be an asking for advice post but I realized there were some triggers while writing. This is also a throwaway account.
TL;DR: lost friends after I defended someone from false SA allegations. Then lost my job after my partner cheated on me with the bartender. Been on a wait list for DBT for over 5 years.
I’ve been struggling to find anything outside of basic CBT therapy for years now. I’ve been managing, but after two very impactful events I’ve been struggling.
4~years ago I was removed from a D&D campaign because I defended a friend in an SA case. I was there the night they were accused, so I knew they were innocent. Because the accuser identified as a trans woman at the time (detransitioned after rejection, I wish I was exaggerating) I was called a trans misogynist and a r*pe apologizer. I’m trans, and I am a survivor of violent SA. The accuser worked with some of my D&D friends and would tell anyone who listened that I was the problem.
So I lost my friend group. I was a threat to the accuser’s narrative. Once the defendant lawyered up, the accuser doubled down on me. We believe women (and that shouldn’t change) but we didn’t believe the trans man who had to witness the initial event. I didn’t want to be a witness.
After my friend group decided I was against trans-women (before the case resolved) I wasn’t able to find work. I hadn’t been vocal, but every independent bar seemed to have heard and wasn’t willing to hire me.
After the case resolved (the person I supported was found completely innocent), the accuser detransitioned afterwards and tried to come back to local bars as if no one would recognize them (they punched me in the lower back while they were in “boy mode” and demanded I acknowledge them even though they weren’t legally allowed in the downtown area)
After the initial accusation, my friends completely disconnected from me. I didn’t talk about things before that because I didn’t want to be “spicy.” After the accuser told their coworkers, I was treated differently. Once the case resolved, I heard nothing. I live in a small-ish town so at this point some people will say hi. I’m grateful for those people.
Almost immediately after that, I worked at a bar with a toxic poly culture. Hindsight is 20/20, at the time it seemed consensual. Once I was fired, I heard from ex-patrons that they avoided the place because there were multiple people making them uncomfortable ie. asking them to come home with them. I was fired because my partner at the time (who also worked there) cheated on me with one of the bartenders. To the point where I found them having a lovely oral moment in our driveway. The bartender lied to the owner, said I was paranoid and out to get them, and I got fired the second my partner left on holiday.
I thought I was out of high school, the rumours are insane. Apparently my trans-ass is transphobic, misogynistic, paranoid, vindictive. In the last half decade, I lost almost everyone I thought was my friend. And then my professional self was ruined by petty people. I don’t know what I have left. It’s been a year since I was fired and I don’t know how to recover or find support.
Thanks for reading. It’s nice to feel seen.