CBT adjunct: Self Esteem, Locus of Identity, and the Abject Identity

[flamingsword]

Some interlocking concepts can become self sustaining cycles of wackness in your life. For some people, having low self esteem leads to underperforming their assigned gender. Not correctly performing your assigned gender leads to your social self being assigned the abject identity (a monstrous identity based on notions of straightness and normativity). And being called names and disrespected as the holder of the abject identity leads to distrusting your self concept which causes you to rely more heavily on the judgment of others, thus reinforcing the negative self esteem. Whether you rely on other people for your self esteem and concept of yourself is called your locus of identity, and not a lot of work has been done to see how malleable it is in adults. But we're going to try to hack it anyway, dammit!

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Make a list of traits that you have - positive, negative, and neutral - and how you feel about those traits. How easy or difficult do you think it would be to change that trait? Have you ever tried? Is it a trait that is sensitive to environmental factors like being rested or being upset?

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

I am _____, and I feel _____ about it. It would be _____ to change it, and I have/have not changed it before. It is _____ in relation to outside factors.

If you wanted to change three things about yourself, what would they be?

Comments

[motorharp]

This is *really* interesting, I'd never heard of this concept before. Thanks for sharing it.

[flamingsword]

Welcome. Which concept? Abject identity?

[motorharp]

I've tried to respond three times, and I am having difficulties putting it into words. The whole paragraph?

[flamingsword]

If your words unlock enough to let you ask questions, feel free. Or I can just unpack and expand on these concepts a little? LMK.