Interactive Tool
Identity Layers Map
Identity is layers, not a single block — and illness typically strips the top ones (doing, roles) while the deeper ones stay intact but harder to see. This maps all four bands honestly: what was lost, what moved, what was never touched.
What this is for: Seeing the whole map, so 'I can no longer do X' stops quietly becoming 'I am no longer anyone'.
Doing — the things you did
Named specifically. Vague loss is heavy; named loss can be carried.
You can leave this blank.
Roles — the parts you held
You can leave this blank.
Values — what was underneath the roles
The values didn't live in the tasks. Choose the ones that were yours.
Core self — what was yours before any of the roles
Preferences, humour, ways of seeing. These were never located in the doing.
You can leave this blank.
One value, at a survivable scale
The value is not diminished by the scale — a candle is still fire.
You can leave this blank.
What you've put together
Your choices stay on this page — nothing is saved or sent.
Four honest bands: what was lost, what moved, what was never touched — and one value surviving in a form that fits.
Nothing chosen yet — that's fine. Use only what helps today.
'I can no longer work full-time' is true. 'Therefore I am no longer anyone' does not follow — it only feels like it does when the top layers were the only ones getting named.
A clean, keep-close version — read it here, or screenshot the page to have it on your phone.