Think you are too weak, spineless, etc to recover?

[katesa]

I see a lot of self doubt on these boards, people believing that because they suffer from mental issues, they are somehow weak willed or inferior, incapable of escaping the hellish pit that it HA.

What I want to say to that is - Nonsense!

So many people on here, despite feeling absolutely terrified, despite having real physical symptoms and even worse psychological torture, still function.

Those of us with children still manage to cuddle them, to play with them, maybe to take them to school and make sure they eat.

Many of us manage to hold down jobs, pushing through day after day of feeling like complete rubbish and still usually completing the working day.

We manage to be there for our partners, or our family and friends. Despite our own terrors we are still sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, partners, friends, parents. We rarely sit in a corner rocking and show no interest in those we love.

We buy Christmas presents to make people happy, maybe some of us volunteer or give to charity.

The vast majority of us, no matter how terrible and frightened we are feeling in our minds, would not hesitate to assist an old man who took a tumble on the street or help a lost child find it's parents.

Now maybe we don't manage all of this all of the time. We get in to a pit of despair and can barely function on occasion. But we still have the strength to get out of it time and time again and go back to the world.

Believe me, everybody here has far more strength than they imagine. If you can do any of the above, if you do it despite dealing with a real and deeply scary illness, then you show an outstanding strength of character. Starting the healing process is no harder than that.

I can't take away the self doubt that seems such a symptom of health anxiety. But I can say that I believe in every single person on this board.

Positive thoughts and happy holidays to everyone. May 2014 be your year.

[rebeccad]

Wow you've just made me feel like we are super heroes and maybe we are , your right like many I hold down a job look after my kids / house etc... Because what choice do we have , we can look at it as a positive we are strong people there arnt many that suffer the mental torture and guilt that we do on a daily basis and still function , great post it's not very often we see the positives in ourselves but we need to more often x

[Tanner40]

Excellent post, Kate. It is always helpful to be reminded of all the good things that we can accomplish and of everything that is possible. We are all much stronger than we think.

[willous1]

It's true Kate

[katesa]

Wow you've just made me feel like we are super heroes and maybe we are

Well I did once put my pants on outside of my tights. :D

But basically, yes. People don't give themselves enough credit sometimes. It takes a lot of strength of character to keep going when one is suffering from this beast.

Thank you for the comments guys x

[Pomchi]

So true, Katesa.

I must be stronger than I think to go and brave Sainsburys at 6.30am this morning along with half the population (well, that's what it felt like!):)

Actually, that is a PLUS to this HA lark, the fact that as I am awake so early every morning worrying, I can get a lot more done a lot earlier -

Shopping tick
Housework tick
Vets tick

And all before 9am! :D x

[greenlady]

This is so true and made me feel I can and will beat this HA in 2014..hope everyone has a great Christmas and a much better 2014..
Gina x

[Fishmanpa]

Excellent post and timely. There are some here on the boards that actually function at a rather high capacity outside of what's seen here. What we see is a very small but vulnerable side of them. The opposite is true as well. In the end, we are just people, no different than any others. We all have our positives and negatives, our hopes and dreams as well as our fears and crosses we bear.

I've often asked here what you would do if you were struck with some of the deadly disease you imagine and fear. From what I come to know of many of you, it's my opinion you would deal with it and fight just as anyone else would, perhaps harder. It's my belief the majority of you possess the inner fortitude to defeat the demons that hold you hostage. I've also learned and it's been demonstrated by many, that that same inner fortitude can be channeled, as Kate so eloquently said in this post, to defeating the beast called anxiety.

Positive thoughts