Myth#3: I am ___ (fill in a struggle or illness).

Hello, my name is Jessica and I am a perfectionist.

FALSE!

Have you ever said those words?  Or perhaps, the blank was filled differently:  I am an alcoholic, I am just an anxious person, I am worthless, I am bipolar, I am a drug addict, I have depression and it will always be like that.

Whatever the blank is filled with, unless it is “I am a person created to be the best version of myself I can be!”, then it is FALSE.

I imagine I may get some flack for this one as many people have been told that the first step to recovery is to admit that there is a problem .  Hear me out.  I do not disagree with the importance of admitting and recognizing that there is a problem; I simply disagree with believing that you ARE the problem.  Saying that you are ______ equates your struggle, diagnosis, condition, or challenge with your identity as a person and it is just not true.

Yes, perhaps you have been told that you have a diagnosis of anxiety, depression, PTSD, or a substance addiction; that is something that you have and can treat and heal through, it is not who you are.  If you begin identifying with a label such as these then you begin to think you will always be _____ and with many struggles, even many mental illnesses, you can recover and do not have to expect it will always be so.  We wouldn’t introduce our friend saying “Hey Suzy, this is Shirley, she is an anxious person.”, so why would we label ourselves this way.

It is important for you to define yourself beyond these labels.  This is part of knowing and appreciating who you are.

How do you introduce yourself or share who you are when you are getting to know someone?  Practice doing this with intention. Identify who you are not what you have, what you’ve done, what job or degree you have, or what your relationship status is. All of these can change and if you do not know who you are outside of them that can make change…and the growth that is necessary for change..much more complicated.

If you have been labeling yourself then think about changing the label to something that identifies you as a person beyond what you struggle with.

Try these on for size:

I am a child of God created for a purpose with intention. 

I am a person with value and worth just for being me. 

I am a person that was uniquely designed with good intention and for a purpose. 

You are a human that is capable of tremendous growth.  Labeling yourself as your struggle, diagnosis, challenge, weakness, or limitation fails to recognize the growth potential within you.

You were made to GROW, don’t label yourself in a way that diminishes the truth that you are GROWING & BECOMING every day!

Just keep growing! Just keep growing! Just keep growing!