Acceptance....

Hi,

It's been a long time since I last rambled on within the boundaries of blogdom. 

A lot of things that I have read and listened to recently have been linked to a familiar thread.  The idea of acceptance.  And more importantly, acceptance within the area of anxiety and depression.

You see, the issue here is that it is incredibly difficult to have any kind of progression in working on improving yourself if you don't accept that you are suffering from any form of depression.  For a long time, I guess I found it difficult to accept the dark clouds for what they are and the nervous anxiety for what it was.  It was easier, for the large part to try to 'man up', hide it and carry on.

But you can't do that forever.

I have found accepting this 'illness' for what it is to be a great leveller in beating it.  Looking at the base level of anxiety attacks, and breaking it down, makes it easier to keep them under control.  An excellent podcast I listen to uses the analogy of an anxiety attack being like a heavy storm.  It breezes in, wreaks havoc while there, but it will pass and things settle down. 

I had an episode, a week and a bit back, came on for no reason really.  But by using methods like thinking of it like a thunder storm, and accepting it for what it is, I have found these attacks being handled on my terms, and not controlled by negative thinking.  There are bad days, but the gaps between are becoming much longer.

By changing the way I approach and think about anxiety and depression, and challenging my initial outlook on it, I have been able to begin reprogramming my thought process almost.  I have slowly been able to lessen my leaning on the fear of the fear cycle.  Waiting for the next one, too scared to operate properly, like any other human being. 

I know that I am no doctor, and that when I start Cognitive Behavioural Therapy things will be done to improve it further. 

I would say to anyone reading this who has any worries, anxiety issues, or depression based problems that the hardest and most important part is to accept what you have, and what it is.

Acceptance equates to progress.