The Quiet Moment

role fusion: when function becomes your identity


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There’s a term for what you’re experiencing:Role fusion.

It happens when a role you’ve performed repeatedly — often out of necessity — fuses with your core identity.

🧠 Why it happens:

✧ You’re rewarded for being “good” at the role

✧ Others reflect that role back to you (and call it your essence)

✧ Over time, your sense of self becomes externally shaped — not internally rooted

This is especially common in:

✧ High-performing women

✧ Children of emotionally unavailable or chaotic homes

✧ Entrepreneurs and creatives who tie identity to output

✧ People whose social value is built on adaptability

💥 The conflict:

You're skilled… but not at peace.You’re respected… but not recognized.You’re functioning… but not feeling yourself.

🌪️ This creates identity dissonance:When your actions no longer match your values,but you’re too entangled to extract yourself.

You know it’s not you.But you don’t know who “you” is anymore without it.

🕊 Rebuilding begins not with quitting the role —but noticing where you’ve disappeared inside it.

✧ soft anchor:

Being good at something doesn’t mean it belongs to you.Recognition ≠ resonance.

🌒 loop back:

read the lived experience: they praised the version of me i rehearsed dailyreflect deeper: the role you became to survive



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irisisquietly.substack.com
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The Quiet MomentBy for who you are and who you're still becoming.