The Importance of Identities

Isn't it great that we are finally seeing what looks like actual summer? To celebrate this, I went on a cycle ride with one of my friends this weekend. We ended up in a lovely café in Cobham and up discussing the topic of 'identity'.

I find 'identity' such an interesting concept. You can look at it from an anthropological perspective, considering how we create categories of either sameness to others or a distinction from others. I've also been thinking about branding, becoming once again obsessed with Debbie Millman, who spoke about how movements like Black Lives Matter or #MeToo have become brands but could be expanded into a sense of our identities.

Anyway, back to the cycle. My friend was complaining about how she feels her only identity is that of her profession, a GP, and followed it by saying that all of her friends would describe her as "a red-haired GP". Hardly flattering. To me, she's a triathlete, a raver, a parent, and then a GP… Possibly in that order. I think she was quite taken aback by this as she hadn't considered the other identities she holds, or at least she didn't see them as part of her make-up.

I find 'identities' interesting in so many ways:

1. Who we are as people. I think we often forget about all the identities we hold. How would you describe your identity, or indeed identities, and how does this compare to what others would say? Are there ones that you are missing or are there ones that you would like to identify with more?
2. Our identities about illness. Especially with chronic pain, I think our identities become associated with who we are as people. Before I found acupuncture, I was suffering from IBS, and that chronic pain became a part of my identity (and one I still hold to this day).
3. The importance of multiple identities. In treating a lot of older patients, it's interesting how those who seem to have multiple identities and interests all have a more joyful experience. The ones who have been mostly defined by one or two, such as their careers, seem to then struggle to find things to fill their time and thus their hearts.

I don't think anything is good or bad when it comes to these things, and perhaps 'identity' doesn't intrigue you as much as it does me. I do think that it's an important part of who we are as people and one of the hallmarks of what makes us the homo sapiens we are, but I think it's one that constantly needs to be in flux. Who we are depends on where we are in life, what we are going through, or where we are, but also who we are with.

I thought it was interesting to share this musing as it might encourage you to think about all the important things in your life and to explore who you are as a person, which often brings to light something you hadn't thought about. Or it might encourage you to think if there are identities that you don't want to take forward or ones that you might want to increase, as we slowly edge towards the autumn now that we've had the summer solstice.