Identity, Self Worth and You
- Farhana Goga
- May 4
- 3 min read
Why You Don’t Feel Like Yourself Anymore (And What This Has to Do With Identity)
At times, people notice a shift that’s difficult to explain.
You’re still showing up.Still managing your responsibilities.Still doing what you need to do.
And yet, internally, something feels different.
You may find yourself thinking:
I don’t feel like myself anymore
Something feels off, but I can’t explain it
I’m not responding in the way I usually would
You notice repeated view of how you d=see yourself eg I am not enough, I am not worth, I am not loveable, I am useless, I am an addict etc
What many people don’t realise is that this experience is not only emotional.
It is also about how you are experiencing yourself — internally.
What This Can Feel Like
Not feeling like yourself doesn’t always look dramatic.
More often, it shows up as:
feeling slightly disconnected from yourself
responding in ways that don’t feel fully like you
second-guessing yourself more than usual
feeling less clear, less grounded, or less certain
or noticing a gap between who you feel you are and how you’re showing up
It can feel as though something has shifted —but hasn’t yet settled into place.
How You See Yourself Internally
We all carry an internal sense of who we are.
Not just in words —but in how we see ourselves.
This can include:
how you picture yourself
how you expect yourself to respond
and what feels familiar or natural for you
When this internal representation shifts, even slightly, it can affect:
how you feel
how you respond
and how connected you feel to yourself
how you experience yourself and life
This is often why people say:👉 “I don’t feel like myself”
Even when nothing obvious has changed externally.
How This Shift Happens
This internal sense of self doesn’t change randomly.
It is shaped over time through:
experiences
emotional events
stress
relationships
and significant life moments
Sometimes, experiences such as:
trauma
grief and loss
or ongoing pressure
can begin to alter how you see yourself — internally.
Why We Start With Trauma and Grief
Before working at the level of identity, it’s important to address what may still be active.
This can include:
trauma
grief
unresolved emotional experiences
Because when these are still influencing your system, they can:
distort how you experience yourself
create reactions that don’t feel like you
and shift your internal sense of who you are
This is where therapy often begins.
Working at the Level of Identity
Once those layers begin to settle, we can move into deeper work.
This is where we work with:
👉 how you see yourself in your mind’s eye
👉 how that internal representation has shifted
👉 and how it is influencing your responses
This may involve deeper identity-level processes (including Level 2 BWRT work), where the focus is on how identity is held — not just how it is described.
What Changes When This Shifts
When this level begins to shift, people often notice:
they internalise a new self
their responses feel more natural
they are less reactive in situations that previously felt difficult
and there is a stronger sense of internal stability
Not because they are trying harder —but because their internal sense of self has realigned.
When to Consider Therapy
You may want to explore this if:
you don’t feel like yourself
something feels off, but you can’t explain it
your responses don’t feel consistent with who you are
or this has been ongoing without resolving
If you know you have a negative view of yourself
You don’t need to wait until things feel overwhelming.
Often, this work begins when something simply isn’t settling.
Therapy in Johannesburg
If you are looking for therapy in Johannesburg that works not only with emotional experiences, but also with how you experience yourself at a deeper level, this approach offers a structured and supportive way to reconnect with yourself and create lasting change.
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