Struggle with theory?

How many of you guys here struggle with theory? I know I struggle with it. I've been playing for 5 years and am pretty good, but I don't don't have much of an idea of why what i'm playing works. I have some grasp on theory and scales, but not as much as I would like to. I hope this all makes some what of sense. I'm not really posting this to get recomendations on the best way to learn theory, I basically want to know if there are others in similar positions as me. Thanks

Sorry guys, I had a typo in the poll.

Hey.. I fixed the typo for you.

Also there was no option for "I know reasonable amount but I want to learn more." so I picked the last one, since it is as close to my answer as possible.

Thanks, and feel free to add that option if you can fix it.

I can totally relate, bro...

Music theory is tough when you learn to play first and try to learn theory later. It seems easier if you take piano lessons as a kid or something, and then pick up guitar after you already understand some theory.

Trying to memorize everything now is crazy, because I forget it if I don't use it often. I think immersing yourself in it makes it easier...that's what they do in music schools, and it seems to work well.

The funny thing is, I've had piano lessons as a kid. I didn't go into a lot of theory though, just enough to get by.

Yeah, same with me...I took a few piano lessons as a kid, and all I wanted to do was play songs. We did some theory fundamentals, but I didn't really get a grip on the basics until I took some theory classes in college.

Another advantage from early piano lessons is that you get a good visual understanding of how the notes are laid out on the keyboard...this really helps when you're trying to understand how intervals, triads, etc work on the guitar.

The key is to get a good grasp on the fundamentals. Then it is much easier to understand advanced theory. For example, major and minor scale and chord construction. Also, understanding what a key is and how it is determined. Keep at it and it will come. In the end, playing and expressing yourself is king, but it does help and great deal to understand what is going on.