Jennifer Pratt:  

I used to be John Pratt. In 2002 I changed my name to Jennifer Erin Pratt. The short story, I was diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder (transsexualism) and after going through depression and worse for a long time, I transitioned to Female. I got married a couple of years after school. We'll have been together 25 years as of July 16, 2008. Our relationship is as friends since my transition and we still share the same home and are very close. I always knew things weren't right. I couldn't believe the truth myself and hid what I felt from everyone else--until I was 33 years old. By then it became clear I couldn't ignore it any longer. In 1997 I got into a program at the University of Michigan, I was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria (transsexualism). I began hormone treatments and had sessions with counselors, psychiatrists and doctors but I refused to do anything more for several years. It was too big of a change. It turned out I wasn't to have much of a choice. Eventually I became so clinically depressed I wanted to die rather than continue to deal with it. I remained that way most of almost 2 years. I was hospitalized several times and most of the antidepressants available were tried. Even electro-convulsive treatments--shock therapy--was tried in the hopes it would push me out of being suicidal. I had 15 sessions of shock therapy to bring me out of the depression for the first time in years. I was finally able to see that I had to either transition or die and for the first time in a long time, I didn't want to die. Ironically, before gender dysphoria was better understood, they used to give shock treatment to those afflicted with it to try and "fix" the problem. I transitioned to female, beginning in September of 2002. I look different but you would have little trouble recognizing me. I now have a different, better outlook on life. While I have dropped the m...Expand for more