Hi. All. I wonder how many sufferers with anxiety realise how much damage can be caused by negative suggestion. We all know about the Voodoo man who sticks pins in an effigy of you and declares that you will die at midnight. (This has been known to happen). Let us take a typical scenario. You awake in the morning not feeling at your best, in fact rather low. You decide to go for a walk and you meet Mrs. Jones, a neighbour. "My goodness", she says, "you don't look at all well". Now this is guaranteed to drag you down. But that isn't all! "I had a brother who had your problem; in fact you remind me of him. He died last year!". Down you go again. You decide you have had enough of Mrs.Jones so you walk on. Then you see Mrs. Brown who, instead of talking to you, passes by on the other side. "I must be in a state if people don't want to talk to me", you think. Down a bit more. People are happy to talk to you about their physical illness but 'mental' illness, oh no. 'Organ recitals' (pardon the pun) are all too common but talk about anxiety and, through fear, most shy away. The point I am making is that our vulnerability to suggestion is powerful. It can also work the other way. "Hi" says Mrs. Jones. "You do look better today. You will get over your problem you know. I had a brother who had your complaint and he recovered; in fact he is now manager of a big company". But how many 'Mrs.Jone's are there. Very few. What to do? Well, the first thing is not to talk to others about your problem unless they are close to you or you think they will understand. That excludes the vast majority. Secondly, keep well clear of the 'pull your socks up, snap out of it' brigade. They speak from ignorance. Thirdly; and this is important, only associate with those who have been there or are recovering. (As far as you possibly can). Positive feedback is very important (you will get this from this site) and it can lift you up when you are down. This is a certainty. Unless you have 'been there' you cannot possibly know. The difference between Sympathy and Empathy is great. Sympathy is the ability to enter into another's suffering and to try and help. Empathy is the ability to enter into another's suffering as if it were your own. There is an obvious big difference. I suggest that only those who have 'been there' or are 'there' can have real Empathy.
Best wishes. joe.
