Internal Family Systems teaches that we have multiple internal personas that have different roles in protecting the true self at the center. It has been useful for self discovery, though I don’t know if I believe it’s completely correct

I did learn that I have multiple sets of behaviors that l adopt based on need. It’s like code switching, except it changes everything - speech cadence, word choice, body language, thought patterns, you name it. It’s not multiple personalities or anything, just changing relative proportions of various traits for a given situation, like job switching in an RPG. It was initially really jarring for my partner. They are one of the few people I’m genuinely myself around, but if I’m in a very stressful situation or interacting with co-workers about work, they see me acting very differently. It’s disconcerting but it makes me more flexible in social situations.

Edit: I also recently learned I’m what is known amongst the commoners as “autistic as fuck”, so that may be a factor. Still learning!