How Do You See YourSelf?

Labels, or in the mental health world, diagnoses, are a tricky thing. Intended to provide a framework for approaching and treatment for a mental health related illness, these labels carry such power in defining the trajectory of our lives and how we see ourselves. But labels aren’t only found here. Labels are even more surface at times, in how we see ourselves and describe our personality. They become, on some level, our identity. Think of when someone has asked you the simple yet loaded question, “tell me about yourself”, and how you’ve responded.

For many, our hardships become a story, or a badge of honor, that can make us feel important, seen, or worthy. Without proclaiming all the suffering that we’ve endured to be where we are presently, what value would we hold? The mind is even designed to conquer problems, and truly cannot stand an unanswered question, so it all feeds into the psyche. Yet, aren’t we so much more than even these stories?

I imagine for some people, not seeing ourselves by a label, or a story of some kind, can feel threatening and invalidating. And that’s not what this is about. The invitation here is to wonder, is there any part of your life that would be different if you subscribed to a different or more expanded way of seeing yourself? This isn’t about being able to do more and fall into the “more” trap of where all of that leads, but rather to ask if you have consciously or likely unconsciously put yourself into a box that simply is confining, containing, or limiting All That You Are.

When I was a teen and in therapy, and even into young adulthood, I received the diagnosis of depression, and thus, my world and how I saw myself was informed by this. I had low energy, difficulty with relationships, a distorted sense of self, yet all of this felt completely safe and familiar. This is what depression prescribed, and it was comforting to have a sense of control within the dense, emotional vortex. Like setting up furniture in a house, these symptoms were the couch, the chair, and the bed, and depression was the foundation, the roof, the structure that gave them shelter. But through consistent renovations, I discovered and constructed a new home.

Labels, diagnoses, and so on can be helpful to provide meaning. Over time, they can become a barrier to living a life with possibility. Labels give us a sense of control, purpose, identity, worthiness, validation, but easily become a self-inflicted wound when we are denying ourselves a life of joy, peace, harmony, freedom, contentment, stability, and grounded, clear safety. To the mind, releasing the attachment to these labels can feel terrifying. But for the soul, the part of you that is connected to the air you breathe and the stars in the sky, it has no concept of all of this. It only sees your wholeness. Yes, even right now.

Common (and subtle) labels/identities:

• I always get hurt.

• The world is a cruel place.

• People are only out for themselves.

• I will always be alone.

• I can’t trust anyone.

• Life is unfair.

• I am (fill in condition) so I can’t do (fill in task/need/dream/hope/desire)

• I wake up (fill in feeling) every day, and I have my entire life, so nothing will change.

We all have reasons as to why we see ourselves (or others) the way we do. And on some level, we all want to be free of the burdens of our emotional weight. Healing these parts of our identity so we can return to our actual Truth, an infinite, capable being, can be the vessel to our power and honestly, is usually where the most profound wisdom is held.

The two most powerful words we can ever express are “I am”, for what comes next is definitive of some part of us or our experience. Let these words become a conscious choice of what you are declaring. And remember, you can re-create your reality in any moment.