Hi all,

It's hard to overstate how much anxiety et al have taken from us. When I first joined NMP I came here in fear and hopelessness, but gradually I decided to take back what anxiety had taken from me and despite all the setbacks, I kicked some butt. Today I wrote something at the top of a piece of A4 paper.

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

The things I wanted to do didn't have to enrich my soul or turn me into a superhero, it was anything ranging from major to minor that I would have done, or would be doing, if I didn't still suffer from anxiety.

I wrote sixty-five things and was still thinking of more things afterwards.

If you ever vanquish the dragon and completely recover from anxiety/depression/OCD etc, or reach an equilibrium where you could live a life that is no longer ruled by them, what would you do? List everything, even if it's "clean the cupboards" or "wash my car regularly" or something you currently believe is impossible, all the way up to "learn to fly a plane". Face it, when anxiety is in control, nearly everything seems impossible, so what does it matter? List them anyway. We won't be ill forever.

Let's also use this opportunity to re-affirm ourselves by swearing that we will not allow doubt and fear to drag us back to square one; that we will learn from our experiences and use them to become better people; that we will always remember the strength and courage we showed in facing things most people won't even dream of; that we accept what we've been through and what we're going through because it's our task to overcome the illness.

We can't give this illness away, or spontaneously recover because someone waved a wand. The only way out is through. We're not alone because we've got each other, so I say don't be afraid, no matter what B.S. anxiety/depression/OCD etc are feeding you. You prove every day that you've got what it takes to get through this.

Why don't you tell yourself how proud you are that you've come this far?