Identity

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Eh, I've been debating and discussing in this area for awhile, but have never really made a serious topic.

Here goes.

Often times I sit alone, thinking to myself.

Why am I in this particular body?

I feel detached from my identity, wandering around the room as if in third person in relation to myself. I could be someone else in the same situation, or doing something else. As if I am everyone.

Why am I me, in this form, with these goals, with this face, with these friends, with these values, and these feelings?

That lonely child over there could take my place, or I, his.

But then, he can never be me.

And he can never be me.

This is sort of a tough concept to wrap your head around, seeing as you've been in your body all your life. I'm asking you to force yourself to treat yourself as a stranger, to get into that third person perspective and look at yourself from an independent view.

I'm kind of not used to my body or mind. My thoughts are often all against each other, and I find myself arguing with myself constantly, with different persona that occupy my thoughts, with the one that sort of interprets all these identities and makes me act accordingly. When I'm emotionally stressed, especially, I sort of detach from my own thinking. Why am I him?

How do you look at yourself? Do you ever feel like you're not who you are? That you don't do the things you do? That you should be someone else, doing different things?

Edited 7 Oct 2009 by Sahaqiel (see edit history)

[Grandmaster Phoenix 26]

1.)This made no sense*?

2.)Take a physcology class.

*Although I see what you are going at, it still doesn't...eh...

[Stormsworder 0]

Nope, I never really feel like that, but my beliefs are what create my outlook on such a matter.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

1.)This made no sense*?

2.)Take a physcology class.

*Although I see what you are going at, it still doesn't...eh...

I asked you to try to force yourself out of being used to yourself.

Just try.

Look at yourself, in short.

Why would I take a psychology class?

I'm just asking if anyone feels detached from their own reality ever.

Sahaqiel

[Shadowknight 54]

I know what you're talking about, sir. And I must say that detachment is something I feel often. It helps me to sort out situations, to take a step back is to put everything into perspective and, as a result, prioritize. I also know why I am who I am, because I stepped back and analyzed my life.

Keep in mind, I did this while I wanted to be a psychiatrist, so I do have reasons for analyzing my life. At least, I did at first. Now, I just do it because it helps me understand what's really important, what isn't, and what's perhaps just a misunderstanding. On top of helping me understand myself, it helps me understand others.

[HylianLink15 0]

I'm just asking if anyone feels detached from their own reality ever.

A lot of the time actually. Sometimes I cannot stop thinking, and in the meantime my 'body' takes over and does all the things I normally do. Or sometimes when I have to be extra social (like, for meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time or at parties) it seems like I am more a robot who does those things automatically, but I'm not really there. I don't know how to explain it, it's a weird feeling... But I think I know how you feel.

[Xylobe 0]

That happens to me a lot. And sometimes, when I'm thinking really hard about something, my body just kind of goes on autopilot and does all the stuff I'd normally do, just like HylianLink15 said.

[Padraig! 103]

I think that I'm the best person ever.

And I agree with you.

[Aethix 129]

Yeah, I sometimes feel like that. Usually when I'm bored and my mind wanders.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

O:

Shadowknight, I use the detachment thing for the same purpose, pretty much.

Other than that, I often find that I'm plain unsatisfied with myself.

Most of the time, this motivates me.

Others, it just depresses me.

Sahaqiel

[The Fuzzmaster 0]

Take a physcology

You know that that would be pronounced fie-scoh-loh-jee, don't you?

Also, yes. I'm an adamant atheist, but I often feel as if I'm not who I am. I can't explain it in the [somewhat] straightforward manner that OP did; I just constantly have weird feelings about everything. People, my living environment, myself... I'm not as attached to anything in my life as I should be. I could walk out one day and never come back, and I wouldn't have regrets about it. I just know somehow that this is not where my future lies. I belong somewhere else on this planet.

[Bitmapfox112 1]

only in the sense of wishing to not live such a boring life.

[Ivo-goji 0]

I can't say I ever feel this way. I never really allow myself the oppertunity to wonder about who I am, as I am constently focusing on everything else in the world besides myself. Would a cloud of butterflys be heavy enough to make a tree fall over? If an atomic bomb just exploded a distance away, would I be able to survive it? What is life like for the person right next to me? Does Link's Awakening offer an indeph look into the Hero's subconcience? What perspective does a god have on other life forms?

Forever my mind is racing. Always questioning, proding, wondering, analyzing, taking in what ever can be thought about. The only time I ever think about myself is when I'm preforming some sort of action; and then I'm thinking about my immeadeit behavior than my true identity. And ultimately, I honestly don't care about what I am like. So long as I can make decisions in the most correct way when they come up, and I always choose the right, there is nothing I need be worried about. My goals are fairly empty and vague, the few I actually work toward are either predetirmed, or are not goals so much as ways of changing the way I live, shifts in action as opposed to ideals to be achieved.

I never really look at the world from a third-person perspective, because, for some reason, I've never looked at my life as being apart of the world. When I was young, I would wonder if life was all a dream, and one day I would wake up from it. It seems sometimes like I'm just the spectator, here to learn and observe others, rather than become involved. When it comes down to it, the first things I usually think about are not what I am supposed to be doing, or what I want to do, but how I am to carry it all out.

Who am I? I don't know. It doesn't seem like a real question. I can't change who I am, if I am anything at all. All I can change is my behavior and my perspective. What is identity anyway? What really makes me any different from anyone else, and if I am, what sort of significants does knowing that hold? Would anything about my life change because I relised who I am? I may be trapped in a desert without food or water and have amesia. If I were to regain my memory, would it help me out of my situation at all?

[The Beguiling Bard 0]

What shadowknight said. Detatchment is a coping mechanism. You may experience it in times of 'pain' or insecurity. It's just the way some people work, and there's nothing inherently bad about it. Too much can be a bad thing, though. Pain or disapointment are nothing to tax your life avoiding, otherwise you're risk averse. I'm not trained or anything, so I can't say more; nor should I.

[pheonix561 2080]

see, that whole third person view of everyone, including yourself? thats called empathy, and its important you practice this way of thinking for EVERYONE EVER. In my opinion, anyways. And I argue with myself alot, too, in that detached persona way. except I usually stay as pheonix561. Some times im watching myself, but usually I stay as me.

damn saha, I knew we thought alike but I didnt think we THOUGHT alike.

and you'd understand and pass sociology honors as easily as would be if i weren't too lazy to do most of the work my teacher gives me.

except I dont go on autopilot. my body just stops and completely focuses on thought.