At the risk of ripping off a movie line...how am I not myself? How am I not myself?!

What if putting on an act is who you are? Like, it's a central part of your character (or, perhaps, your problem) to put on a brave face and deny any issues?

Are you really being authentic if you hide these defense m\echanisms and behave with uncharacteristic openness (or whatever) in therapy?

Haha. Tricky waters. I don't care how other people do their therapy. But I can understand being irritated at listening to others brag.

ETA: To answer the question...frankly, I haven't the slightest idea how not to edit myself. I have no idea what my true, honest, authentic self is and don't really understand making a distinction between two selves - one authentic and one not so much. Which I guess means that I'm either always authentic or never authentic?

I feel like I once had a conversation with my T about this (something about Heidegger...?) and he looked extremely bored.

My T, that is. Not Heidegger.