The Wasp and the Cliff - two analogies for HA

[CatLady1]

I am (slowly) working my way through the most recent HA spiral, and a couple of analogies have helped me to articulate HA to people who don't experience it.


(1) The Wasp

The wasp represents your anxiety, with the threat of being stung being the illness you fear.

Imagine a wasp flies into the room. Most people will give it a glance, think 'ugh a wasp' and wait for it to leave. Or they know how to open the window and make it leave.

But for you - you swat at it, and it buzzes harder and lands on your arm. You freeze in terror. It's definitely going to sting you, right? It's inevitable. You call for help, ask someone to swat it away. Or maybe you're lucky and it flies off by itself. But - that's not the end of your worry. The wasp is still in the room. It's just sitting on the ceiling, easy to ignore. But you know it's there and you are always listening for the buzzing, even when there's no threat. You need to learn how to open the window - but you're scared the wasp will come and sting you if you try.


(2) The Cliff Edge

You're standing on a clifftop. Over the edge of the cliff is a high precipice (illness) and rocks/waves (death) at the bottom. You've seen others falling over this cliff before, and you can't take your eyes off it.

Every so often, you feel something nudging you closer to the cliff. Your feet don't have a good grip. Sometimes, it feels as if the very ground starts to crumble under you, and you grab frantically at the edge, your legs kicking in the air. All your friends and family are standing safely back from the edge, and they don't understand why you've gone so close. You can see them, and scream for them to throw you a rope.

Eventually, after an eternity hanging off the cliff, someone holds out a rope (reassurance) and you manage to crawl back onto the ground. But you can never climb away from the edge, because the rope is too short or too weak, and you're afraid to move your feet in case you slip again.

[Carnation]

Excellent!

[Pearly queen]

I am (slowly) working my way through the most recent HA spiral, and a couple of analogies have helped me to articulate HA to people who don't experience it.


(1) The Wasp

The wasp represents your anxiety, with the threat of being stung being the illness you fear.

Imagine a wasp flies into the room. Most people will give it a glance, think 'ugh a wasp' and wait for it to leave. Or they know how to open the window and make it leave.

But for you - you swat at it, and it buzzes harder and lands on your arm. You freeze in terror. It's definitely going to sting you, right? It's inevitable. You call for help, ask someone to swat it away. Or maybe you're lucky and it flies off by itself. But - that's not the end of your worry. The wasp is still in the room. It's just sitting on the ceiling, easy to ignore. But you know it's there and you are always listening for the buzzing, even when there's no threat. You need to learn how to open the window - but you're scared the wasp will come and sting you if you try.


(2) The Cliff Edge

You're standing on a clifftop. Over the edge of the cliff is a high precipice (illness) and rocks/waves (death) at the bottom. You've seen others falling over this cliff before, and you can't take your eyes off it.

Every so often, you feel something nudging you closer to the cliff. Your feet don't have a good grip. Sometimes, it feels as if the very ground starts to crumble under you, and you grab frantically at the edge, your legs kicking in the air. All your friends and family are standing safely back from the edge, and they don't understand why you've gone so close. You can see them, and scream for them to throw you a rope.

Eventually, after an eternity hanging off the cliff, someone holds out a rope (reassurance) and you manage to crawl back onto the ground. But you can never climb away from the edge, because the rope is too short or too weak, and you're afraid to move your feet in case you slip again.

Thank you for sharing. These are excellent.

[NoraB]

Eventually, after an eternity hanging off the cliff, someone holds out a rope (reassurance) and you manage to crawl back onto the ground. But you can never climb away from the edge, because the rope is too short or too weak, and you're afraid to move your feet in case you slip again.

That's really good CL...

Another perspective, if that's ok?

Fear is what puts us in this position. (Fear, and not understanding the stress response)

We thought our way to the cliff edge...

We can think our way to safety, past the ropes and any other obstacle.

In my case, I went over the edge and into the sea. (Mental breakdown)

I fought against the drowning, but eventually learned to float. (Acceptance)

I discovered that when we appear to be at our weakest and most vulnerable, this is when we're our strongest and capable of more than we ever imagined.

I've worked on my HA. I've taught myself how to challenge my thoughts. As a result, I'm sat on a deck chair, sunglasses on and scoffing a 99. I know the cliff edge is there. I know what can happen if I get too close to the edge, but I also know what to do to keep myself at a safe distance...

And if I do fall? (Well, I already did and I survived)

What you wrote will resonate with most people on here, including me. It articulates (beautifully) what HA is to people who don't experience it. (What I've said is for the benefit of those who do)

I just think it's important for people to know that there's another scenario....one where we are in control, not relying on the reassurance of others to keep us safe...

I hope you don't mind my input?

[Button1]

I loved this CatLady- I can never explain well enough to my friends and family what HA is really like (their facial expressions always indicate that they’re thinking “why are you worrying about THAT?!) but I think your perspective takes it helpfully one step further Nora, that’s what we’re aiming for isn’t it? A self generated sense of control, I’d absolutely love to feel like I’m edging towards that x

[NoraB]

I can never explain well enough to my friends and family what HA is really like (their facial expressions always indicate that they’re thinking “why are you worrying about THAT?!

Nobody can understand the all-consuming fear that comes with heath anxiety unless they've experienced it themselves. (They will only see the irrationality of it all because the test results keep coming back clear etc)