I was a typical latch key kid growing up, raised by tv and way too much time alone. I sometimes feel like my emotions aren't as bad as other people's mental illnesses or I feel like they're fake. Like as if somehow throughout my entire life I subconsciously picked up many traits of characters and events I've watched on tv. Because I attach my identity to certain characters in a movie or show I watch so intensely that I might have taken bits and pieces of their personality onto myself. I remember doing this back when I was young and even today I catch myself doing this still.

  
It's just jarring to think that my personality might be fake or that my mental illness could be caused by the fake bits of identity I created through manipulating my emotional connections to fictional stories and characters. Does anyone else experience this?