I tried coming out at 18. It didn’t go so well. I told my best friend… who then never spoke to me again. It was embarrassing, we were doing the same training scheme and would bump into each other. He completely ignored me.
I was glad when that year was over, I went off to university and never saw him again. I do wonder about him sometimes, and did a little digging. He appears to have completely vanished.
After that, in my first year at uni I had an awful experience and nailed the closet door shut until I was 26.
I had a seizure that was… misunderstood by the people I was with and my own escape was to clam up completely about it for some years.
I did eventually talk to a therapist who gave me a good explanation, it just took some time.
I came out when I was 49. It took a while to come out to myself. In contrast, coming out to family and friends was easy. Most everyone was supportive, although Mom doesn’t really want to talk about it.
The downside of growing up in the 70’s and 80’s was society was sh1t for LGBTs, the upside was when I did finally come out, there was really no risk of getting kicked out. If someone didn’t like it, they were invited to go to h3ll. 🏳️🌈😁