Are all of you sure you have HA? I´m finding it diffucult to "let go" and accept that I´m not sick and it´s "just" HA. I´m afraid to.... I hope it´s HA because even though it sucks it´s better than the alternative, right?
Hi:) All that you wrote you in your post is incredibly textbook when it comes to HA. Do not feel alone in your thinking patterns. As we move down our healing path for our mental health challenges, the same type questioning will occur....it doesn't ever
completely go away - forever. But, this can be more than OK, as we can learn how to live full and vibrant and calmer and more trustful lives eventhough we have HA / ADs:)
Many years ago, I accepted that I would have a lifetime journey alongside my mental health stuff - anxiety and panic issues. Acceptance is NEVER resignation. And, acceptance is not a static place in life. Acceptance is not, simply, saying - "OK, I accept - anxiety be gone!" Acceptance is a continual dynamic position in our life. Through acceptance we can, eventually, remove a lot of the inner turmoil that can hound us. The "Why me?", the "This isn't fair!", the "I just wish I wasn't like this?" type reasoning will never be a productive part of our healing. Acceptance entails the embracing of many positive actions and habits (exercises, techniques, therapies, self-help, affirmations, meditations, visualizations, hobbies, education, physical exercise, deep breathing, life-affirmations, and others).
Acceptance is not
all about thinking. It is also about DOING. And 'doing' will always be a vital, critical part of our longterm healing path. It can be an exasperating trial finding our way to some sort of viable healing path. I floundered for quite a long time, myself. There is a definite component of having to 'live it' before we can 'help it', so to speak.
But, that said, one of the main reasons why I continue to come here to The AZ to offer up my two cents, here and there, is that I would hope that some peeps, who are really struggling, might be able to find their way,
SOONER than later, to embracing the things that have been shown to help . And, that some peeps will try to move away from the counterproductive habits and actions SOONER than later. HA / ADs tend to repeat in their overall nature and in their driving ability. It is a looping pattern of fear, doubt and insecurity (not ALL about just health stuff either - it can bleed over into nearly all facets of our lives). Stick around long enough, at The AZ, and you will see this. Go to support groups long enough and you will see this. Those that can find a way to break out of the cycles of fear (the repeat patterns of counterproductive behaviors) have a greater potential for seeking out some lasting solace. Those that continue to repeat will, overwhelmingly, remain heavily doubting that they will ever learn how to become the major definer of their, overall, well-being once again.
(I help myself in trying to help others, as well....I'm not
all about altruism:) LOL.
Now, repeating the
positive actions and habits are essential. Hit THAT 'repeat button' over and over and over and over and over and over and over. It becomes almost natural in its presense as we find some successes:)
Don't let your own interractions with HA / Anxiety make you feel that your case is soooooo much different or worse than others. A very common pattern of thinking among anxiety peeps is that we can feel as though our own case just won't respond (for whatever amped up reasoning we come up with) to the helping actions and habits that we read about and hear about, and are told about by fellow anxiety folks and, perhaps, mental health professionals.
There is always hope and help. Hope without action is fruitless (but HOPE is incredibly wonderful:). And, out of all the help you receive, the most powerful lasting help will be your own self-help:)
Peace and Feel Well:)
P.S - It is not 'just' HA. Accept that HA can (and does, in cases) become as debilitating as many diseases and illnesses we fear. It can permeate our lives deeper than actual health issues might. It can paralyze us into inaction, which further wraps us up in despair. My mother has MS. She has for over 30 years. She is still doing pretty darn well as she nears 70 years of age:) She educated herself about all that she really needed to embrace and adopt in her life in order to give herself the best chance of living WELL alongside her condition...meds, diet and exercise and positive affirmations of living well, mental health awareness and maintaing hobbies and defining a desirous purpose in life have carried her to where she is today. Faced with a challenge, most of us have two options. We can accept the challenge and go about defining our best way to meet the challenge. And, then after defining, we DO and get busy trying to live well. Or, we do not really accept the challenge and we meander about, so to speak, kind of hoping that the challenge goes away a little bit...or just goes away.
Do not just hope our anxiety just goes away.
I know most of us try. We try. Do not give up trying. And attempt to find some clarity in defining the best possible path to some healing:) With anxiety disorder(s) / health anxiety, it is tough finding clarity, often - I know. Do not give up:)
Peace:)
