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there's a third: everyone wants to feel special and also takes any excuse to not have to work on their flawed habits





There's an odd presumption there...

It sounds like you're presuming those who put a label on themselves don't want to change themselves at all; one could also imagine that those who put a label on themselves want to change themselves most of all


Those who see and believe that there's a label to parts of them can easily believe that they're "helpless", and "that's just the way I am"

> "helpless", and "that's just the way I am"

These don't mean the same thing. You can be the thing you are and not be helpless. For example, if you have ADHD that's just a part of who you are. That doesn't mean you can't take medication or form processes to help yourself and mitigate the effects of ADHD.

Also, in my experience, people who choose to never label themselves are not better off. They typically do have some sort of condition, sometimes multiple, and they actively choose to do nothing about it because they're in extreme denial.

I see this with parents all the time. "My kids doesn't have ADHD! Stop trying to label him!". Okay great, but little Timmy is about to flunk out at fucking third grade. Let's do something about it.


Those who do not see or do not believe a label can easily believe that's just the way they are. Those who see and believe a label can easily use it to identify what they can do to help themselves.

the ol' "name and tame"

>>>who put a label on themselves don't want to change themselves at all<<<

Maybe that wasn't the intention but label does shape perception.


Alternatively, society is broken.

Every society has always been broken and always will be broken in certain ways. For most people, recognizing that isn't actionable. But they can change themselves.

I don't see how this explanation doesn't also fall victim to wanting to feel special. It looks a lot like projecting in fact :/ cringe



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