An effect of trauma
Identity disturbance
Not being able to answer simple questions about yourself. What you like, what you believe, what you would choose if nobody was watching. Changing depending on the room. Having built yourself around what kept you safe rather than around anything you picked. When a lot of energy went into reading other people, there was rarely any left over for working out who you were.
A self that never got room to form is not a missing self, it is a postponed one. The work is less about finding who you were all along and more about finding out now, in small ordinary choices. People here are doing exactly that, often for the first time in their lives.
It can sound like
If any of those sentences live in your head too, you are in good company here.
Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.
You do not have to carry this alone.
Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.