Does anyone else struggle to define(label) themselves?

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I know my title is a bit vague, but I really struggle to say anything about myself. I don't know if I'm much better with other figuring out other people either, in all honesty. In essence though I feel I'm not very confident because I don't "know" myself, sure I know how I might react or behave in a situation, but I can't really say much about me! Don't know if others feel the same??

At best, labels are oversimplified judgments

No, But then I don't try to label myself much.

I don't bother, because I don't interact with professionals who might at least know the definitions, but even there, definitions do not do much good. If you have two or more "disorders," even related ones, you put yourself beyond the imagination of almost all professionals.
Definitions are too often a distraction from the true continuum.

Sometimes labels are good, bad, both or neither.

Almost everyone, labels too many things, too often

Judgmental lil dipshits that act like they know everything

f**k Amy Lee scheel b***h

I don't try to define myself by labels much, though the ASD one seems to fit me quite well and my diagnostician would agree. Still, ultimately even that is just a ragbag of traits, some of which I have in spades, some of which I don't. And if I tell other people I've got ASD then there's a danger they'll have a pre-determined idea of what that means that won't match up with who I am very well.

I much prefer to just observe and catalogue my strengths and weaknesses, in the same way as I avoid the question of how intelligent or unintelligent I might be and focus instead on my individual aptitudes. As soon as I try to reduce the whole shebang into a couple of words or a number, I think I just lose the essence. But my traits are fairly objective things, and I can always use a knowledge of what I can do easily and what I can't. It comes in handy when I'm deciding what to do with myself.

Perhaps unusually, I'm fairly comfortable with nihilism, the idea that my life, like everybody else's, is just a messy accident with no unifying plan, and that I'm just trying to make myself as comfortable as possible in the midst of whatever the environment turns out to be. My life is whatever I happen to make it and whatever the world will allow me to make of it. I'll probably never know quite who I am and I don't particularly need to know. I'm a father, a husband, a friend, a musician, an inventor, thinker, and "hobbyist." I suppose I used to be a professional scientist of sorts, but I never fully identified with my job. I'll never be the best and I'll never be the worst. Oh, and they say I'm on the spectrum.

So in summary, I don't struggle to define myself, I just get on with my life and don't think about who I am very much.

No. I already know who I am.

I know who I am.

Could I convey that to another person? Nope.

I get what you mean.

My reply is why define yourself to them?

I think of myself mostly in terms of what I can do, but I don't try to sum it up with labels unless pressed.

Last edited by Dear_one on 16 Aug 2019, 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I am ferret

Sexy Ferret.

The slinkiest mod of WP.

No

I have many labels I could stick on myself but none of them full explain me. I'm sure it's the same for many. People don't fit in boxes well and thus won't fit under a single label other. But why would be want to be filed under a label? Diminishes individuality and oversimplify the unique complexity of each person. Labels are largely only handy for things like diagnosis.

I am defined by my actions not just my ability (or lack of) to articulate the being that is me. But if need be, yes I can speak to who I am and all that encompasses. If I do not have an answer in the comment I will after a bit of time reflecting.

Will people understand what I'm relaying? Typically I've found people don't usually care that much. They prefer an adherence to listing your hobbies. But there is worth in knowing yourself, simply for yourself.

Words don't often mean a lot. My counsellor confirmed that if people asked me how I was feeling, and I replied "Fairly suicidal, thanks." in a cheerful, upbeat tone of voice, they'd miss the middle word completely.

It's a bit more than this though, I don't know who I am, I cant define myself to myself, let alone to others. I think not being sure who I am, and who other people are leads me to panic attacks from social anxiety, plus because I'm not sure who I am I'm not sure what to do or what I want to do, so when my ex gf asked abusive things of me, I'd do them because I don't know better.

Anyone who can easily define themselves is surely boring almost beyond redemption.

Yes, since middle school I've been trying to understand what's "wrong" with me. Nothing ever fit perfectly and my mom was so against medical professionals that I never got to find out. I know some people feel labels aren't important but some people need to know and it can be helpful to be part of a community. I constantly feel like I'm a fake at everything I do (one of the reasons I want to be officially diagnosed). A lot of times when I'm struggling to understand myself I'll ask friends close to me to help.