identity-gap
There's a version of yourself the world sees and a version only you know. The distance between the two takes real energy to maintain — Baldwin called it "acrobatics." The longer you perform a version of yourself that isn't real, the harder it becomes to remember which one is.
Related ideas
Ideas connected to identity-gap.
Power & Institutions
The gap between who you are and who the system needs you to be is a power dynamic
StoicismStoics navigate the gap between inner values and external demands as a daily practice
National NarrativesNational narratives create collective identity gaps — between what a country says it is and what it does
Rhetoric & PersuasionManaging the gap between who you are and how you present is a form of rhetorical skill