If I took the labels away…
Blog series- Beyond the labels, who am I
Trauma.
Chronically ill.
Mum.
Nanny.
Survivor.
Life coach.
Reiki healer.
The person who helps.
These words have followed me for years sometimes like armour, sometimes like chains.
They helped people understand me, but they also taught people what to expect from me.
Somewhere along the line, they became my name before my actual name.
And for a long time, I didn’t question it.
Because the labels were true.
Because they were earned in some of the hardest chapters of my life.
Because they validated the battles no one else could see.
Because being “the one who helps” gave my pain purpose.
But lately I’ve been wondering
Who am I when the labels fall away?
Who am I when I am not holding it all together for everyone else?
Who am I when I am not surviving something?
Who am I beyond guiding, healing, teaching, and serving?
If I took those labels away even just for a breath maybe I’d meet pieces of me I forgot existed.
The woman who feels most at home outside under open sky.
The one who laughs quietly at her own thoughts.
The daydreamer who gets swept up in the moment and forgets about time.
The soul who craves softness, stillness, and genuine connection.
The gentle heart who loves with depth and doesn’t apologise for caring too much.
The person who still wants to create, explore, and enjoy life just for herself.
Maybe I’m not just resilient maybe I’m tender.
Not just strong
but sensitive.
Not just a fighter but someone who deserves rest.
Not just a helper but someone who needs nurturing too.
Maybe underneath all the identities
there is a woman rediscovering her joy, her passions, her pace.
A woman who can still give without losing herself.
A healer who remembers she deserves healing too.
Not the version of me people needed.
Not the version of me pain created.
Not just the life coach, the Reiki healer, the one who helps.
Just me becoming again.
And maybe that’s the real healing:
Not just healing the wounds
but healing the identity built around them.
Learning to introduce myself to the world and to my own heart without listing everything I’ve survived or done for others.
Reclaiming who I am.
Reclaiming who I’m still becoming.
Reclaiming the woman underneath the labels.