It sounds like you are identifying with a lot of symptoms, and it is not for any of us to say whether it is because you are seeing those things in yourself, or if you need more labels to fill a need for attention. It could even be some of both. I have noticed for myself that I probably identify with more labels than could accurately be applied to me - I guess I am a label collector. LOL. Even so, it is real that I see those things in myself, so I probably have those traits, symptoms, or characteristics at least to an extent, and I do have actual diagnoses also. And there is some reason why you identify with those things. Even if there is validity to the idea that a need for attention is behind some of it, why do people see that at a problem? We all need attention sometimes. It is a legitimate need. We need someone to care about us, and there is nothing wrong with that. Also, there is a difference between identifying with something and acting out. You are not your father and you don't do the things that he did. It is not unlikely that your dad's struggles with depression were legitimate even though you suspected otherwise, and maybe you have inherited a tendency towards some of the same problems. But that doesn't mean that you are like him in a bad way, or that you are any less deserving of being taken seriously.


<font color=orange>"If we are going to insist that people pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, we must ensure that they have boots."</font color=orange>