laika001New Contributor
24, lost, confused and struggling with my identity/sense of self
TLDR; I'm confused about me, my gender identity, my sexuality, my interests, my goals and who I want to be
So; I'm a 24 year old "woman" and I have no idea who I am any more or how to spend my time.
I've been attending a youth support group for 1-2 hours most days which gives me the chance to socialise and an excuse to leave the house; I'm meeting people and learning things all the time - but the gaps between being there feel so empty and I honestly just want to start figuring out my identity. I put quotation marks around woman because I am AFAB, however I have no idea if being female even aligns with my identity anymore; I have no idea what aligns with my identity any more. I have no hobbies or interests and no idea what to do with my time; most of the time it feels like there is nothing I really want to do and nothing that excites me - or something will excite me but not for very long.
I've recently been diagnosed with combined adult adhd and have just started taking medication for it [edited by moderator] (been taking for a week); I've always had the anxiety/depression diagnosis up till now. On paper my diagnoses are CPTSD, ADHD, Anxiety/Depression; my childhood and most of life has been very traumatising and I've never really had time to just BE. My parents are separated and lived with my mum, with weekend visits to my dads. Mum was very controlling about who I could/couldn't be, how I could/couldn't act and who I could/couldn't see; she always had final say in everything (on paper this doesn't look that bad, but when I give examples it makes much more sense why I have no sense of identity).
I wasn't an individual but rather an extension of her and/or my father (both of which she hated), nearly all of my decisions were dictated by how mum felt and if I expressed different I ran the risk of being shut down, berated, rejected or abused depending on how mum was feeling that day.
As I mentioned she hated my dad and always hated when I expressed any love for him and shut down all of his attempts at being involved in my life; I was always told he didn't know who I really was, he was just buying my love, he was an asshole, I'm just like him and many many other negative things about him; this created some crazy tension between dad and I as I got older, but we are working through alot of that now.
However he lives an hour and a half away so I don't get to see him very often (I've been aiming for once/twice a month).
This is only a glimpse into the ways I was torn down as a child/teen and even into my young adult years; now that I have moved out I am trying to find ways to start being me and I have no idea where to start. My mental health is terrible and nothing seems to tickle my fancy hobby/interest/activity wise. I'm confused about me, my gender identity, my sexuality, my interests, my goals and who I want to be; I know I'm not going to be able to figure that out immediately but I'm hoping someone out there can give me any kind of guidance/insight/advice on beginning to explore me and my identity as an individual.
Apologies for this small essay, there is alot in my brain and I'm hoping this finds someone who can help!