Who am I?
Before you look at the traumas that have impacted you, it is important for you to look at who you are.
Your sense of yourself serves as the reference point for who you want to become and what you want to
do with your life. Traumatic experiences can rob you of your sense of self. The following exercise is
designed to help you look at what you know about your own core self- your basic identity- and whether
that self is healthy, partially healthy, or unhealthy.
Answer the following questions and complete the following statements to get a sense of yourself:
1. What about me gives me a positive sense of who I am?
2. What facts describe me?
3. I feel competent about (or in control of):
4. I have worth because:
5. I am able to be intimate with:
6. My basic values are:
7. I have a positive sense of humanity and the meaning of life because:
8. I make the following appropriate, reasonable demands on myself:
9. I make the following inappropriate, unreasonable demands on myself:
10. The following “shoulds” govern my life:
I should______________________________________________________________________________
I should______________________________________________________________________________
I should______________________________________________________________________________
Which of these “shoulds” would you be able to discard or throw in a trashcan?
Mark with an “X” where you lie on the following continuum:
Rigid_____________________________________________________________________Flexible
Harsh____________________________________________________________________Gentle
Critical____________________________________________________________________Accepting
Inappropriate______________________________________________________________Appropriate
Overcontrolling __________________________________________________________Undercontrolling
What did you learn about yourself doing this exercise?
Now that you have done this exercise, how would you describe your core self?