What is a Label

Labels are everywhere. From the moment you’re born, you’re handed a handful of them like a baby starter pack: a name, a gender, a weight, a score, and a vague comment about whether you were “easy” or “dramatic”. Before you’ve even opened your eyes properly, you are categorised, sorted, and mentally filed away.

And it doesn’t stop there. We grow up absolutely marinating in labels — from family, school, work, society, the media, and our own inner commentator who sometimes needs a snack and a nap. But why do we use labels so much? And what do they really do to us?

Let’s dive in.

Why Our Brains Love Labels: The Psychology Behind It

Here’s the psychology in real-human language: our brains adore shortcuts. The less unknown we have to deal with, the safer we feel. Ambiguity? Threatening. Clarity? Comforting.

This is where Labelling Theory comes in.

Labelling Theory says that when we label something — or someone — our brains relax. It feels predictable. It feels navigable. A label tells the brain, “Ahh… I get this now. I know what to expect.” That instant sense of certainty is deeply regulating.

But the theory also highlights the downside: once a label is applied repeatedly, it doesn’t just describe a person… it starts to shape them. People often internalise the label, behave in ways that match it, and even limit themselves based on it. The label becomes the identity.

So when you think back to something someone said to you at age seven — the “bossy one”, the “quiet one”, the “sensitive one” — and realise it stuck? That’s not you being dramatic. That’s psychology doing its thing.

Labels Help Us Find Our People (AKA Our Spice Rack)

Now for the good stuff: labels help us find our people.

When you know your neurotype, personality traits, strengths, and quirks, you’re better able to spot the humans who get you. Labels can act like little signposts that build connection. They help you find your village — the people who share your experiences, support your identity, or simply understand your flavour of chaos.

Whether your label is “neurodivergent”, “creative”, “introvert”, “deep thinker”, or “has 500 ideas before breakfast”, it helps you connect with the right community.

Labels can be beautiful in that way. They create belonging - and we all have a desire to belong. Belonging is a deep rooted survival instinct.

How Many Labels Do We Actually Carry?

Research in identity psychology shows that the average adult can list 10–20 labels without much thought — things like parent, worker, extrovert, anxious, logical, artistic. But researchers also observe that we operate using far more labels subconsciously. Many of us carry 40–60+ labels affecting how we think, behave, and interact with others.

Most of them run silently in the background like apps you forgot you had open.

Which means a huge part of our identity is shaped by labels we don’t even realise we’re responding to.

Some Labels Are Genuinely Helpful

Some labels feel like soft blankets or comfy hoodies — supportive, clarifying, grounding.

These labels give us language, understanding, and direction. They help us claim our strengths. They help us ask for the support we need. They help us find where we fit.

When labels are chosen by us, they can be deeply affirming.

And Some Labels Just… Hurt

Then there are the labels no one wants to wear. The ones that feel like sandpaper.

Labels like:

• lazy

• dramatic

• too much

• difficult

• attention-seeking

• disorganised

• emotional

• not trying hard enough

These labels are usually values-based. They’re full of judgement. And they often get applied in moments when we were overwhelmed, dysregulated, masking, exhausted, or simply being human.

These labels can be damaging because they shrink our identity instead of expanding it. They make us believe stories about ourselves that are incomplete or untrue.

Labels Shape Our Identity More Than We Realise

Whether uplifting or hurtful, every label becomes part of the filter we look through. They influence what we believe we’re capable of, how we relate to others, and what we expect from ourselves.

But here’s the bit most people miss:
We rarely stop to notice the labels we’re carrying — or the ones we’re unconsciously placing on others.

This is why pausing and reflecting matters.

Labels don’t have to define you. You get to choose the ones that feel aligned — and discard the ones that don’t.

Want to know more about Labels and reflect on the ones you carry? Tune in for our first episode Labels- Let's Reflect on 25 November 25.