Hello BrownHat22: Well... without going into a lot of detail here, I will just say that I have had a lifetime of this. I've been hiding so long I doubt I'd know how to do anything else. I tried "coming out", as they say, once. I just ended up feeling exposed & foolish.

Perhaps it might have been helpful if someone, along the way, had noticed how badly I was struggling. But no one did. My personal experience has been that no one really cares. All anyone wants is for you to continue to play whatever role in their lives you've always played. And as long as you're willing to do so, they'll be more than happy to play along regardless of how much inner turmoil it may cause you to do so.