1. Take the binder off. I don’t care how dysphoric you are, I don’t care how bad you feel, I don’t care who is around. DO NOT PUT IT BACK ON.

2. Go to the doctor. Or to a nurse. When I broke my ribs, I went to the nurse at my school because that was free and that worked fine.

3. Accept that there isn’t anything you can do to heal faster. The most likely thing that doc is going to tell you is that you have some bruised ribs, and you need to let them heal. Sometimes broken ribs can break lungs, which is potentially fatal, so no matter what, you still need to do step two, but that’s probably not going to be the case.

4. Treat yo’self. Get some icecream, and settle down with your favorite tv show. This is gonna be rough on your mental health.

5. Tell people that you are injured (make up a bull-riding/bungee-jumping story if you don’t wanna tell em why). This will garner you some sympathy points, and people will go easier on you. Maybe your boss will let you wear a hoodie to work.

6. Don’t reflect too hard on it. The first thing you are going to think is not “oh I have an injury so I better take care of myself” it’s going to be “this is the physical manifestation of my dysphoria and why does being trans always ruin my life”. Try to refrain from that particular thought. You have an injury. Treat it like any other injury or illness you could get.

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What not to do.

1. Put that damn binder back on. Don’t. I see you tempted. Don’t.

2. I SAID DON’T.

3. You could end up with a warped ribcage if you don’t allow yourself to heal. Don’t put it back on.

4. Really. Don’t.