55 and recently single and honestly? I thought the hard bit would be the loneliness. It is not. The hard bit is looking in the mirror before a date and not recognising the person looking back. I've been trying something this past month. Not a programme or anything, just... noticing when something makes me feel like myself. Wore a dress I'd had for years on Saturday. Bit of a gamble. But I felt nice. Actually nice, not performed nice. I took a photo because I wanted to remember the feeling rather than the outfit. I'm not going to pretend I've cracked it. I still spiral in the taxi on the way there. Still wonder whether anyone could find this body, with all its current surprises, remotely attractive. But I had one evening last week where I forgot to worry about it for about two hours and that felt like something worth writing down. Got a GP appointment coming up and I want to actually say this stuff out loud. That it's affecting how I feel about myself, not just physically. That confidence and mental health are part of this too, not just the other symptoms I know how to name. Anyone else finding that the emotional side of this is the bit that's hardest to explain to a doctor? x