Self-expression - how important is it to you?

How important is self-expression to you? Do you have any clue why you have your level of need for self-expression?

I use the term "self expression" broadly - it can come from things ranging from voicing opinions, to talking about things you experience with close friends, to engaging in creative acts that are shared with other people, to giving speeches, etc.

I've always felt like I have a much lower need to express myself relative to other people, and have long been baffled by other people's seemingly higher needs for it. Often people think that I'm "just shy" when I don't talk about myself or share my opinions or not engage in creative outlets (I only notice this because a lot of people in my life are artists), but it's often out of an absence of any internal need or desire to share anything about myself. Pure indifference, really. It's like I often don't see the point. I'm not entirely sure why, myself, other than that I have a simple absence of a compulsion for it.

I want to understand the differences in people's needs to express themselves, and why some people have higher or lesser needs for it than others.

I'm not sure how much this helps, but I think my need for self-expression is as strong as the need to hear other people express themselves. I usually don't turn to people to vent frustrations unless I can't find an answer on my own, but I enjoy the challenge of thinking through problems with others or discovering different angles to something. From a creative standpoint (art, music) I feel the same way; Usually self-expression on my own is more deeply personal and reflective/ruminative whereas collaborating with others seems to be more of a dialogue. The latter is way more fun IMO, because it makes you feel totally accepted, like you are a part of something (a-ha...)

Usually if I have no need to express myself, I am either intimidated (by something way over my head) or really, REALLY bored. The whole self-expression thing for me ties into reaching out for challenge and/or wanting to understand something. Kind of like scratching an itch. If I can't understand I just feel really disoriented and anxious/unsure, or just annoyed; The need is pretty immediate. I think part of it comes from having (sometimes embarrassingly) strong feelings/reactions to things.

I think self-expression is one of those things that you'd only notice the importance of when you don't have it anymore.

Originally Posted by thewindlistens

I think self-expression is one of those things that you'd only notice the importance of when you don't have it anymore.

Well put...

I don't need to express myself, but I do most of the time. I get annoyed if I try to and somebody interrupts. Eventually if several consecutive interruptions occur of if my input would become irrelevant, I give up on trying. Although if I really wanted to I could stop altogether for a while and not really feel bad about it.

I wouldn't like it if I had too look/act/think/do/etc.. like EVERYONE and everyone who looked like me.
There's no Personality in it.
Be yourself

Life to me is an expression.. It's being aware of one's needs, where wants to go, everything. Expression can be as much as expressing outwardly, like dressing in your favourite clothes or building your dream home, to expressing inwardly just by deciding what it is you want, or who you are. It doesn't matter if people know.. I don't express to them, I do it for myself

Self expression is important to me but it's sometimes blocked because I get shy or care too much about what others think of me. But when that happens, I'll find a more covert and personal way to express myself. I may just write a poem alone in a dark room or listen to music that resonates with my mood. I use creative means of self expression a lot and find it both therapeutic and sometimes something really beautiful comes from it and I like the idea of turning emotions into something beautiful.
If something is intense and important enough to me, I'll find a way to express it. Sometimes I'd like to be expressive in public, I tend appear reserved and even-keeled, but I'm working on balancing that out.
Sometimes I just enjoy listening to close friends express themselves so much that I don't take the time to do the same to them.

In my opinion self expression is improtant for me