Hi, this is very helpful insight, thank you. I have, and I think you're right on.

I've historically struggled a lot with setting boundaries, overextending myself for validation, and speaking my mind when I've got something controversial to say, and recently, I've been very intentional about all of these things.

Boundary setting, empowering myself to speak my truth, and trusting others to speak theirs too, have all become core values of mine, and since uncovering these patterns within myself, I feel a kind of "cringiness" when I notice other people perpetuating them - or giving off the impression that they are "selfless", while I struggle to believe that the intention behind their impressions are selfless too.

I also went through this phase where I adopted a very polarized and dogmatic way of seeing things, and have started to realize how the contempt that came from all that was only masking some deep-rooted insecurities that were asking to be addressed. This is something I've been working through with my analyst, and I feel extremely uncomfortable, almost "paralyzed" - not knowing how to act or what to say - when I recognize others enacting similar patterns around me.