Do you mind being called "eccentric"?

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I do not mind.

I've been called weirder. And likely do not mind.
It's not simply in the manner of behaviors and expressions, but also my experiences and thoughts about it.

Really, the former likely implies a more negative and judgmental crap.
The latter can go as far as fascination and confusion can be expressed. That is, if one knows how to see past the former.

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You took me too literally, Natureplastic.

I know "eccentric" has nothing to do linguistically with "esoteric" or "exotic."

I was just thinking of what some "eccentric" people could be in addition to be "eccentric." I was thinking "alliteratively."

I am far too precise to be eccentric. I am more concentric...

Never been called eccentric nor weird. "Insane" appeared once in university class, although as something between seriousness and a joke.

I'm not sure it's necessary to call yourself anything. A human mind is too complex to catch in a word, anyway. Thus I don't really listen to what people call me because I don't think it's important.

Earlier in my life, I remember my mom sometimes calling the way I said things “eccentric” with an obvious negative connotation. Like when helping me write an application form, she’d be like “if you put it like that, it sounds eccentric”. The fact that she did this a lot didn’t help my pre-diagnosis feelings about being “weird”, as kids at school had frequently called me.

As mentioned above, my mom usually used it to say something I was doing was weird in a bad way, but generally, “eccentric” feels like a more dignified label than “weird”. “Eccentric” kind of implies that you choose to be different, whereas “weird” implies you’re naturally different, in a bad way, and stuck like that.

To me, "eccentric" will always mean "completely off their rocker, but rich/beloved enough that everyone makes excuses for them". It's amusing. If I got called 'eccentric', I'd know that at least someone thought I had some excusable qualities.

I don't mind being called "eccentric"--if indeed I am eccentric. The term "weird" seems most often used to describe something perceived as negative and out-of-the-ordinary. "Eccentric" also seems to have a connotation of flamboyance (think Salvador Dalí) or like a high-energy type of out-of-the-ordinariness. I think the terms which best describe me in that vein are 'quirky' and 'odd. My expressive energy has tended to be medium to low, but I've had many high energy moments before. Like I remember someone commenting on how I kind of "play charades" with my hands and body as I tell a comical anecdote. I think I got that behavior from my dad who is like that 24/7. We are also Italian, so we tend to be more "charady" when we talk.

Hmm, where was that quote...? Ah yes:

"That's one of those irregular verbs, isn't it. I have an independent mind; you are an eccentric; he is round the twist." - Bernard Woolley, Yes Prime Minister

If you're talking about "self-talk," then it doesn't matter what your therapist thinks of the word. If, to you, "weird" is a nicer word than "eccentric," you should use "weird." Your therapist seems to be saying that using a word that seems gentler to you is wrong because of what the word means to him or her, or because of what a dictionary says. Umm... That's kinda not the point if we're talking about "self-talk" right? If "weird" is more acceptable to you than "eccentric" then it sounds like you're already using the gentler word, the one with fewer negative connotations. Maybe your therapist needs to understand that when you talk about "self-talk" the important part is what the word means to the person thinking/saying/feeling it.

Oh, and I've always referred to myself as weird, and am not bothered by the word. "Eccentric" always seemed to mean "weird, but rich." I've only ever gotten halfway, lol...

Well I haven't been called that...usually people used less kind inferences to that kind of thing towards me.

creep and freak were a lot more common, maybe from time to time older people said I was 'eccentric' but for sure younger people used less kind words.

I'm okay being called an "eccentric", but I don't get called this very much anymore.

eccentric means off-center, IOW a bit touched, a bit unhinged. but given the doggedness with which magas wield their petty insults, i'll take eccentric over other things.

"eccentric" sounds more positive than "weird", to me.

"eccentric" sounds, to me, like "weird" but more worthy of respect.

I think I would possibly have been more likely called "weird", but I was shooting for "quirky"--which was somewhere in between.

weirky