WLFTW

I also don't refer to myself as 'I am..xxx' (any of the things I have at one time or another been diagnosed with). I think this is partly because, many years ago, a good friend of mine was diagnosed with a particular thing. I knew her as who she was, a caring, capable woman who, like me, had things she struggled with. Over too short a time I watched her become identified with this new label. It was like she gave into it and became the diagnosis. She soon disappeared out of my life.
One of the things I have learned about myself is that my own sense of identity is very fragile. I have been what I was supposed to be for my whole life. Now I am trying to be just whoever I am, and that sometimes means someone who has things she struggles with...I don't need to use other people's shorthand...but I also don't have a problem with anyone else using what works for them