Break the [wounds + unawareness] cycle and guard your descendents

Wound-assessment Worksheet # 1 of 12

42 Common Behavioral Traits
of False-self Dominance
- p. 2 of 2

By Peter K. Gerlach, MSW

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    The Web address of this 2-page worksheet is http://sfhelp.org/01/w1-gwc-traits.htm

       The prior page summarizes 20 common false-self behavioral traits. This page adds 22 more, and comments on "scoring" your results. If you need to, review the directions for using this assessment tool before responding to these items. Recall why you're using this worksheet, and reduce any physical or emotional distractions before continuing. Is your true Self guiding your other subselves now?

Me / You

__  __  21)  S/He is significantly uncomfortable being alone or prefers solitude to an unusual degree and seems socially isolated.

__  __  22)  S/He has markedly low self-esteem and is often harshly self-critical and discounts her/his own talents and successes. S/He is constantly apologetic and/or defensive, and usually deflects or discounts merited praise. S/He often avoids making appropriate eye contact with some or most males / females / authorities / people, and reflexively uses "you" or "we" rather than "I."

__  __  23)  S/He often experiences mind-racing or mind-churning: ceaseless "inner voices" (thought streams), which are frequently anxious or fearful, cynical and/or pessimistic, critical, catastrophic,   argumentative, obsessive, and/or chaotic.

__  __  24)  S/He is often hyper-vigilant: i.e. anxiously alert to the present and expected painful actions of other people. S/He tends to assume others' (usually negative) perceptions, beliefs, and/or intentions, and to react to things that haven’t happened yet as though they had.

__  __  25)  S/He often smiles and/or chuckles inappropriately when nervous, hurt, confused, scared, angry, shamed, and/or worried. S/He is probably unaware of this habit, can’t explain it, and may joke about it to hide related guilt and anxiety.

__  __  26)  S/He often feels vaguely or clearly victimized by others or "fate", regularly avoids taking responsibility for her/his own choices, and denies or stubbornly rationalizes doing so; or s/he assumes too much responsibility, and feels guilty for things s/he can't control.

__  __  27)  S/He is highly sensitive to real or imagined criticism from others, and unnecessarily rationalizes, explains, and defends her or his actions and values. S/He is quick to blame others, or often empathizes with "the other guy’s" situation and gives in easily.

__  __ 28)  S/He commonly fears, distrusts, is tense around, and/or argues with some authority figures. S/He feels very anxious without clear instructions, or compulsively resists them and acts independently despite others' irritation or frustration.

__  __  29)  S/He fears saying "no" and offending people or being rejected by them. S/He avoids setting appropriate limits (boundaries) with others, and feels reluctant to - and guilty about - respectfully asserting her/his own rights, needs, values, perceptions, and opinions.

__  __  30)  S/He confuses pity with love, and/or associates love with pain. S/He usually focuses on others' needs first, and seeks to rescue or "fix" them; or s/he is over-concerned with his or her own needs (is "self centered.") S/He avoids intimacy, or cyclically seeks, then runs from it - i.e. s/he has a history of cyclic approach < > avoid relationships.

__  __  31)  S/He hangs on desperately  to relationships that regularly cause significant shame, fear, guilt, hurt, resentment, sorrow, and frustration. S/He may repeatedly cycle between intense jealousy and guilt; Major personal relationship-choices are often largely based on fears of criticism, "being wrong," rejection, and abandonment.

__  __  32)  S/He often feels bored, restless, or uneasy without current personal or environmental crisis, drama, chaos, and/or excitement. At times s/he seems to seek or make crises, and denies, jokes about, or rationalizes (justifies) this.

__  __  33)  Typically s/he waits and reacts to situations or is often self-harmfully impulsive and proactive.

__  __  34)  S/He often feels alone, disconnected, or lonely, even in a group. S/He rarely feels s/he really belongs anywhere.

__  __  35)  S/He often seeks comfort, pleasure, and gratification now vs. later, even if that's self-harmful in the long run. S/He may defend, justify, or minimize this, rationalize it by saying "I can't help it," and/or deflect from it by joking.

__  __  36)  S/He prefers to work independently - e.g. as a consultant, craftsperson, or entrepreneur - and/or to work in a solitary setting. S/He changes jobs often or stays at the same job for years. S/He works in a human-service occupation or avocation (nurse or doctor, teacher, counselor, coach, clinician, lawyer, clergyperson, consultant, sales or service rep,…)

__  __  37)  S/He rarely or compulsively initiates social activities. S/He habitually avoids or compulsively seeks being the center of social and/or occupational attention.

__  __  38)  S/He is frequently self-centered and grandiose or subtly or clearly self-abusive, self-deprecating, self-sabotaging, and self-neglectful - e.g. eating poorly, overworking, avoiding exercise, and never seeing a doctor or dentist except in emergencies.

__  __  39)  S/He habitually withholds or shades the truth or lies to avoid expected criticism, rejection, and/or "hurting (displeasing) others." S/He denies or minimizes doing this to her/himself and/or others, and secretly feels guilty and ashamed about it.

__  __  40)  S/He is secretly or openly critical or ashamed of her or his appearance and/or body. S/He may be extremely modest or very immodest. S/He consistently grooms and dresses shabbily and drably, or "loudly," over-formally, or "perfectly."

__  __  41)  S/He repeatedly chooses people with significant false-self wounds as mates, friends, and associates;

__  __  42)  S/He denies having many or most of these traits to excess, explains them defensively, and/or minimizes their personal significance - and s/he probably denies this denial, justifies it, and/or jokes about it.

        These are typical false-self behavioral traits. There are others - this is not an exhaustive list. Each wounded person has a unique mix and variety of traits like these, depending their history, circumstances, ancestral inheritances, and which subselves dominate and control their personality, perceptions and lives.


      "Scoring" this Worksheet

        There is no research-based "scale" with which to reliably interpret your score here. The lower the nurturance level of a person's childhood environment, the more items above may be checked - but see # 42. Because none of us grew up in perfectly healthy childhoods, everyone has some of these traits.

        The real questions are which traits, how many, and what impacts are all the traits having on the person's inner and outer lives and health so far? Two common impacts are psychological and/or legal divorce or never committing to a primary partner. Other common impacts are addictions, depression, "anxiety attacks," "mood disorders," (some) obesity, and/or chronic health problems.

       Every adult and child can be subjectively placed somewhere on a line between "slightly wounded" to "extremely wounded." Generally, the more checks or "X's" above, the higher the odds that the person you're rating has significant false-self dominance and wounds. The greater the wounds, the greater the chances of  chronic trouble maintaining personal health, satisfying work situations, and lasting, healthy relationships.

        As a rough guide, if you checked more than 15 of these 42 items, I suggest you or the person you rated...

  • study this slide presentation and these Q&A items. If you have trouble viewing the slides, see this.

  • patiently use the other 11 self-assessment worksheets for wound-verification,

  • read the Project-1 guidebook or these articles, and...

  • seriously consider some form of personal wound-recovery with qualified help.

        For options for relating well-enough to a wounded adult or child, see this.


 

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Updated  August 04, 2008