dianesw wrote:
You all gave great advice and practical reasons.
Any suggestions that appeal to the heart?
I guess "the heart" is two things. Or maybe more than two, but here's the two I can think of.
There's the "loss of masculinity" aspect of diapers, which I don't have any advice for except to empathize. That one is rough. And I don't necessarily agree with people who say "it's just a choice of underwear, it doesn't have anything to do with masculinity". I guess technically they're right, but it ignores all of this programming we get from society about what being masculine means. When I see people say that my reaction in my gut is "Well, yeah, but..."
I'm sorry I don't have an answer for that one. I want a better answer to it, myself.
There's also the "reduction in day-to-day fear, stress, worry" part. I think that can also fit under the "heart" category. That one I think is pretty clearly in favor of wearing diapers full time. By the time I went back to diapers last year the fear was dominating my whole life. I don't think fear is too strong a word, I think it's a good word for the emotion. The world we live in is built with one type of person in mind, a person who has "normal" bladder control and can wait a "normal" length of time to go to the bathroom. For people like me, who don't fit that description, existing out in the outside world, and trying to pretend I'm ok, is just terrifying. And it doesn't get better.
It definitely didn't get better during the pandemic. Among other things, the number of public bathrooms dropped during the pandemic; initially severely, and even now in 2023 I don't think it's returned to its former number. It's just miserable and embarrassing and horrible.
... Except that it does get better with diapers. That's the magical part. It doesn't just get a little better, it gets all the way better. Since the diaper is always there, I know for an absolute certain fact that I can always pee when I have to. If I have to pee 6 times in an hour, then that's great, I just go ahead and pee 6 times in an hour. When it's convenient to change, I change. No stress, no fear.
How's that for "heart"? Not that I don't have plenty more to say about the practical side too. But that's my take on the heart side.