One thing I've had to learn is to back out of identifying myself narrowly with what I do.
F'rex, "I AM a writer!"
What happens when I can't write, because I'm ill or depressed or injured? My entire self concept disintegrates if I've clung too tightly to that definition. (Yes, that happened.)
Shifting to "I write, and I love it, but I also do and love other things, and who I AM as a person is informed by BUT NOT DEPENDENT on those things"... that probably saved me.
#writing #SelfCare #Health
It was so hard, and it still is, because I tend to grab hard onto what I do as a self validation support. "I'm good at this, therefore I'm a worthwhile person!" Horse****. Turn it inside out. "I AM a worthwhile person. AND I am good at this."
I'm capitalizing I AM deliberately, to indicate self concept as opposed to generic statements of accomplishment.
How you perceive yourself affects everything. EVERYTHING.
Where are you putting the I AM, vs I am, in your life?
#writing #MentalHealth
I also wonder how much of this tendency is externally imposed from an early age. We introduce each other with what we do as identifying tags: "this is Leona, she's a writer from Virginia". The validation we get reinforces how to introduce ourselves: "this is Leona, a housewife" does not carry the same cachet.
It becomes a cascade effect very fast....
Leona