I have been thinking about this for a while now, and have to say I have a massive problem with the term 'cured'! After having read a number of threads on here I thought it might probably be a good idea to address the dreaded 'c'-word, and try and put it a little bit into perspective.
First of all, I can't help the feeling that many people's expectations regarding the word 'cured' are far, far too high and rather unrealistic. I mean, this is not a black and white, either/or situation: It's not that anybody is suffering from a 100% anxiety - or no anxiety at all. What most people are going through is generally somewhere in between.
Furthermore, anxiety is not exclusively negative, but it has its positive sides as well. Imagine we were indeed 'cured' of anxiety and a 100% rid of it - the reality of this would be on par with being severely disabled!
Anxiety does have its useful functions as well: It prevents us from getting knocked over in traffic; it helps us to live our everyday life and deal with all those perils that come with it; it gives us an inkling in view of not getting involved with all kinds of potentially dangerous situations and people, etc, etc.... - in short: anxiety is a very useful thing! It helps us to find our way through life.
Everybody experiences some anxiety on a daily basis, and this is nothing to beat oneself up for. I know a number of people who have a fear of heights, for example, and others who feel uncomfortable in crowds or loud environments. A good friend of mine gets absolutely hysterical when he is confronted with birds, particularly pigeons with their flapping wings, and experiences high anxiety when he encounters some. Another friend, who is an intrepid traveller and generally not afraid of anything, got into a complete state when working as a tourist guide in the Alps, and had to show tourists around the mountains getting on one of those large ski-lifts. Every time she had to get in one of those gondolas she had a breakdown and just couldn't do it.
Neither of these people would classify themselves as suffering from a mood disorder, but see themselves as perfectly average and functioning people. And yet they have their moments of high anxiety, which in my view means that anxiety is a very human trait, and everybody has something they are anxious - if not panicky - about every now and again. Is anxiety really something to be ashamed about?
As for 'cured', I strongly believe that there is no such thing. Simply because it's not necessary and would ultimately, for the reasons I attempted to pinpoint above, not be in our interest and therefore not be desirable.
Of course there is such a thing as irrational anxieties on the basis of cognitive distortions, which is a learned behaviour (most of which we are generally not aware of), and can therefore be unlearned again with some personal input and a bit of effort and awareness.
On the basis of this, anxiety and panic are potentially manageable, and in my experience, this is as good as it gets. It is virtually impossible, and, as I said, not desirable at all to get rid of anxiety altogether, but it is possible to manage it and put the distorted and irrational aspects of it into perspective in order to function in a way that is adequate to one's own personal necessities in life. As far as I'm concerned, this is good enough and quite an achievement, because try as we might, we will never be perfect. And there is no need to be perfect, but merely to be accepting of oneself in order to live a contented and fulfilled life.
Any thoughts on the matter?
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x ps if having to connect with people in any way causes a problem within, what does one do? Awaiting a response..(wasn't meant to sound facetious) x
&:-) 
