Hi there Thefloooff, and welcome to Scarleteen. First of all let me say well done on thinking about your personal safety when staying safe and not interacting in adult online spaces. Also well done at acquiring a craft like leather-working, I know that takes a lot of patience and skill! With regards...

Hi there brungerbulb, what you tell to healthcare professionals in your life is in the end, your own decision, and whilst it isn't a good idea to lie, but since you and your therapist agree that this behaviour is not self harm but rather something you do safely, for pleasure , then you don't need to...

I've never listened much to podcasts so thank you for your advice and I'd be grateful for any recommendations. It's hard for me to come up with a topic I'm interested in, I realized I haven't been spending much time doing things I like lately so I don't even know what that is. But in general I like...

Hi there discoveringme, sorry to hear that this situation is leading to you not feeling great about yourself at the moment. Many folks with vaginas face difficulty with things inserted in the vagina, so you are not alone, however I acknowledge that this may not make things any less frustrating at th...

Hi there Lovergirl95, I'm sorry to hear that this is causing you some pain and frustration at the moment. Sometimes, what can be the issue is tensing up before trying to insert something because you're expecting pain, and/or because you're putting pressure on yourself to have inserting something int...

I have a few favourites! The thing with grounding exercises is that even if they don't entirely take away your distress but reduce it for a period of time, and that helps you cope/have a bit of a break, then they are still useful. You can use them as often as you need. A couple that can even be depl...

But I'll definitely use the chance that there's no risk they might come into my room unexpectedly the next few days and try some podstasts, I had no idea it was possible to listen to them without registering or downloading so thanks so much for the advice!  Hi there Theansweris42, just popping in t...

Hi Theansweris42, thank you for sharing your thoughts of solidarity with us here, it is appreciated, I'm sure particularly by our staff and volunteers in the US. One thing I learned a while ago now is that just because there are other traumas and difficulties in the world, it doesn't make the challe...

Hi waterhyacinth, sorry to hear that you are in a position where you feel like you don't have many adults to turn to in your life right now. Do you know why your parents want to take you out of therapy? Is this something that you want/agree with, or not? Is there a counsellor or teacher at school th...

Hi there queenoftask, and welcome to Scarleteen. You've asked a few different questions here (which I'm glad you felt comfortable asking us), about masturbation, how you might know when you are ready for partnered sex, and also decision making when it comes to approaching a partner. To start with th...

Hi there jadedoor08, and welcome to Scarleteen. We're happy to chat with you about this, everyone is different so what might work for one person might not be exactly what another needs. Have you tried indirect stimulation (essentially having something between the clit and stimulation that diffuses t...

This Pride we posted a new batch of Queer Media Recs , this joins last years’s recommendations and Some Books and Balms for Nonbinary Folks . Have you tried some of these yourself? If so what did you think, did something capture your imagination, big or small? What queer media have you been loving t...

Glad to hear you're doing much better Emm5. If you have any questions or want to chat anything in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out to us here at Scarleteen

Glad to hear that opening helped you feel better, having someone to talk to can be a really important part of working through these things. You are welcome to chat to us about questions/from from reading the articles here. If you are comfortable answering/engaging in this line of discussion: have yo...

Hi there brungerbulb, I'm glad to here that Michaela and Mo were able to help you feel reassured and better 😊. Speaking to your therapist and showing her this thread sounds like an excellent plan, and talking to her about this whilst waiting for all the admin to get done to get HRT sounds great too....

Hi there Afi, since you are having a burning sensation after urinating you should see a doctor as you may have a urinary tract infection (UTI), or a yeast infection. These are easily treated and many people, particularly people with vulvas have had to deal with one, the other, or both at times in th...

Hi XX, glad to hear that you're in a situation where you are able to flag an issue with your parents and ask questions about your health. I would say it would be better to go sooner rather than later, just to make sure that actually that this cream is a good idea before using it, and to get an actua...

Hi there waterhyacinth, whilst I'm sorry to here that you find yourself dealing with this kind of situation, I'm glad you felt comfortable asking us about this. From what you are describing, I would say you are very very wise to be listening to your instincts here, the fact that you are able to note...

Hi there jq2022, and welcome to Scarleteen. From your post, it sounds like that you have faced some really difficult challeges in life that would have needed a lot of strength to navigate through. There are many people here and out in the world who can relate to your experiences, and reading writing...

Hi there wawa4455 and welcome to Scarleteen. What you're experiencing is actually a really common thing, most people find what they like sexually and what they find arousing can change over time, and situationally, depending on what is going on in their lives. This is explained really well in this a...

Hi Opal, everyone is on their own timeline as far as working about how they may experience arousal, so your age is not the most important factor here. As Heather mentioned, putting pressure on yourself (which can include thinking you need to have experienced certain things by a certain age), can hav...

Hi there Euge, and welcome to Scarleteen! So, when you say that you "know" this from YouTube, are you able to tell us the things you heard/saw on videos there that make you feel this way? I ask because all the information on there isn't necessarily as correct or based on current informatio...

Hi Lucy4, a curiosity to clarify, are you saying that you haven't come across folks who are asexual who haven't tried sexual things before to "work that out"? There are asexual/aromatic folks who haven't done things that way, so even if those labels don't feel right for you and your interi...

Hi there ndisg, sorry to hear that it's a bit rough at the moment for you. It is totally okay to feel sad about a relationship ending, even if you know it is the best decision. We have some resources on our main site that you may find useful at this time (our main site is dark at the moment but will...

Hi BatsNCats, first let me reassure you that you are not "stupid" or "broken" if your hymen (another name for it is vaginal corona ) or something else is making it hard for you to insert anything in your vagina. This is something a lot of people have difficulty with, and a doctor...