I was having an existential thought the other day about labels. Not labels that you purchase at an office supply store or record labels or clothing labels. No, I was thinking about why we label ourselves. We describe ourselves with all these adjectives to describe who and what we are, these little mini-bios, so people know what they are dealing with.
For example, I have seen people put in their bios on Instagram what their Enneagram number is or what their Myers Briggs personality type is. (in case you are curious my Enneagram is 6w5 and my Myers Briggs is INFJ 😉 ) But my point is…why? Why is that particular label in your bio? If our enneagram numbers are similar, I should follow you? Why do you feel it is important to let everyone know that you define yourself by your personality type that you scored on a quiz?
And my thoughts on labels aren’t just relegated to social media bios. I’ve seen people on both sides of the fence argue on whether or not it is helpful to use the word “broken” when talking about depression, as in “I am a broken person because I have depression” and those kinds of thoughts/sentences. Some people think that it is not helpful to label yourself “broken” when trying to combat depression. Others think that by labeling yourself broken, you are acknowledging the depression and coming to terms with the fact that you are not okay. As someone who has suffered bouts of depression most of my life, I do not have an opinion either way. When you are in the throes of darkness it is all you can do to survive. If labeling yourself broken or any other adjective for that matter helps, than that’s okay. I just wonder why those conversations are around a label instead of around depression in and of itself.
I am not anti-label. I have my own labels too. I mostly define myself by being a mother, bookworm, an introvert, etc… you get the point. I guess my over arching question is why do we do this? I don’t have an answer, but I am curious 🙂
What do you think about labels? Yay or nay?
If I recall correctly, I am an INFP so we are very similar, which doesn’t really surprise me! And I agree labels are weird. Do I use them too, of course. I don’t think they are bad per so but we also tend to use them to define who we are or to give us an identity because we need to have some sort of “label”. Or we attach a good or bad judgment to a label. Or we use our job title to define us. Uh, mine mostly certainly does not and never has, even when the job is a good fit and I enjoy it. My title isn’t me.
For me, when I’m actively dealing with depression, I tend to describe it and myself more negatively, as in I’m broken. When I’m in a more neutral space, it’s something that I acknowledge living with versus how I tend to describe myself. It’s actually a bit interesting because I’ve never really thought about it before and it’s another way for me clue myself in as to when my depression is creeping up on me.
Hey, we are similar! Introverts unite 😀
I agree, I do not think labels are bad per se. I know it is part of our identity and it is part of our communication with each other and how we find things in common with one another. I just existentially wonder about the whole attachment angle to labels as a whole because I label myself as well 🙂
The “broken” conundrum is interesting, for sure.
You know, I’ve always referred to myself as ‘broken’ when I get my period, even though that (technically) means things are working as intended. It’s really something I need to think about and reframe.
Isn’t it interesting? The word “broken” can be applied in various ways in how we can describe ourselves.