Has anyone ever experienced a pure O identity crisis and has advice on how to deal with it?I keep questioning whether I’m being 100 percent my authentic self or what my true talents/likes/dislikes are,etc and it’s so hard to deal with.I thought writing and creating in general were my talents but now I’m not so sure.
Pure O Identity Crisis : Has anyone ever... - OCD Support
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Pure O Identity Crisis
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jasmineWilliams
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That's the thing about OCD, and 'pure O' in particular. It makes you question things until you feel like a hamster on a wheel, going round and round and not getting anywhere!
Think for a moment about what 'being your authentic self' means. The likelihood is that your authentic self is very complex, multifaceted and multilayered. Consider, for example, the selves someone could project in different situations. Going for a job in an office, you will most likely dress smartly and be businesslike. Going out with friends, relaxed, laughing and having fun. Slobbing at home in front of a favourite programme with a big bag of crisps. I'm not saying these are you, but they could be all facets of the same person.
It's perfectly possible to be interested in lots of different things, and be good at a range of things. There's no reason why you should restrict yourself.
I like poetry and cricket and politics and history; I enjoy needlework and writing; I make a good cheesecake (but I'm rubbish at most other types of cake) - these are all part of what goes to make up 'me'. There isn't a pure essence of 'me' - rather there's a ragbag of lots of often different things.
Being creative is part of our nature. That doesn't mean we can all be great artists; it just means that most of us like making things. It could be a novel, a poem, a piece of furniture, a garden. It could be lots of things.
Don't assume that if something you've tried to create don't come off the way you wanted. Try again. Practice certainly improves, if it doesn't make perfect! Or try learning another skill. It's by trial and error that we learn. And it's all part of you.
Thank you so much,this really helped!
I'm pleased!
Jasmine, I struggle with this every single day. I feel like I am always thinking ahead with a perspective of making sure everything is always fine and ok. At the end of the day, it takes so much time for us to ever feel like our true self. What Sallyskins said is perfect. It is because we are talented in so many regards we cannot choose one. Look at that! We also have to remember we are not a majority in the world. So we look at ourselves as wrong. As soon as you doubt yourself remember to bring it back and see if that doubt is worth doubting.
For me, I have the same struggle of doubting who I am, what I want to be, who I want to be with, etc. Unfortunately, I think bc we are always hyperactive with our thoughts we have the ability to question everything and seek out all these opportunities because they are a part of us. I don't have an answer for you on who you are, but the best advice I have that I am going to use, is be everything you can. We admire Olympians because they are masters at one thing and do it well. In a way, we are hyper-Olympians! We do so many things well and if we do not celebrate that we stress, which is not fair to you!!! I am far from recovered, but I am choosing to accept everything I am and if something feels off or wrong to you, you are not that. Much luck, and thank you again @sallyskins for your wonderful reply.
Thank you💕💕
I understand what you’re saying. For me though it’s more like ‘hey you THINK you know who you are, but what if you’re missing something’. I worry that my authentic self is hidden, like I’m in denial of myself in some way, and one day there will be a big reveal and I’ll be like ‘so this is who I really am and I’ve been inadvertently lying to everyone’. Perhaps it’s more useful to ask those close to us how they see us. Sad, but I trust my partner more than myself in that respect because my mind is all over the place and my opinion of myself changes. Does anyone else share this sentiment?
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