One thing that helps DS11 when he's in one of those funks is a saying I picked up somewhere (Facebook?) -- "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken."
It makes him laugh, and then he starts to actually think about how he can't be anyone else, and it opens the door. He still doesn't like who he is sometimes, and wants to be "normal", but I think he may be starting to grow into himself. I hope.
We've also had the discussion about how normal is just the average of all the abnormals, and there really isn't a "normal" person. And the one about how everybody is weird is popular with both of my kids.
