MATINDI rin pala ang pinagdaanan ng kapatid ni Robin Padilla na si BB Gandanghari habang nakikipaglaban sa mental health issue, lalo na noong magdesisyon siyang mag-out.
Sa kanyang latest vlog entry, ibinahagi ni BB ang hirap at sakripisyo na kanyang naranasan habang nasa proseso ng pagiging transgender.
“What is unseen by the eye is what’s really the harder part. It’s not a bed of roses”, unang pahayag ng the US-based actress-model. Dito sinabi ni BB (na nakilala noon sa showbiz bilang Rustom Padilla) na kasalukuyan siyang sumasailalim sa “hormone replacement therapy” bilang bahagi ng kanyang pagiging babae.
Pagpapatuloy niya, “Not to mention, ‘yung mental health issues. That’s why you’ll hear a lot of transgender individuals saying, ‘I can’t do hormones because it’s driving me crazy.’ That’s really true, but it’s part of it. It’s nothing really… it’s not that you’d go crazy but it’s really the mood swings.
“And I always say, ‘di ba ang mga cis gender women, you have 28 day-cycle, so your mood changes every 28 days. For me, I do my shot injections twice a month, so I basically have a 14-day cycle, and it’s… mahirap,” aniya pa.
“We have to deal with changes physiologically, too. We don’t only do the physical change, or the outer appearance change. The change is coming from within, especially if you’re doing hormone therapy. Physiologically, there are changes. What is unseen by the eye is what’s really the harder part. That is why it is always encouraged that when you have a transgender relatives or friends, you give emotional support,” pahayag pa ni BB.
Naging emosyonal naman si BB habang pinakikiusapan ang kanyang followers na damayan at suportahan ng mga ito kung meron silang mga kapamilya at kaibigan na tulad niya, “It’s hard for a transgender individual to go through transition by themselves. It’s very difficult kasi you are vulnerable emotionally. So reach out. To those who have transgender friends, ask them, because a lot of transgender individuals always have that happy face. You may call it their mask, but it’s actually for self-preservation. So reach out to them. Ask them how they’re coping as far as their therapy is concerned.
“Ask them if they’re emotionally strong and strengthen them if they’re not. And most definitely don’t expect them to be strong enough. Let them feel accepted. Not tolerated, accepted. Tell them, from the bottom of your heart, they’re more than enough,” dagdag pa ng kapatid ni Binoe.
Kung matatandaan, umamin sa madlang pipol si BB na isa siyang beki noong 2006 sa isang episode ng Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition habang kausap ang fellow housemate niyang si Keanna Reeves. Noon namang 2016, inaprubahan ng isang korte sa Los Angeles, California ang kanyang “petition to change her legal name and gender”.