Suggestible?

Hi All. I feel that this is something that affects us all and can be a devastating event in nervous illness. The old "You will never get over this; you will be like it all your life" (which is totally untrue) can be so devastating that it can lower you further into the pit of DESPAIR.

You have all heard of Voodoo. If the witch doctor says you will die at midnight and he sticks pins in your effigy, then you will and, in fact, it has been known. Such is the power of suggestion. In our present state we are very vulnerable to suggestion. I have seen blogs where someone has been told something which is totally untrue but they seem to have fastened on to it and it has made them feel bad. "You are useless". So you feel useless. "You have no moral fibre", so you THINK you lack moral fibre. It is not your fault. It is a result, a symptom, of your illness and your vulnerability to suggestion. Now why do people do this? Sometimes from a sense of superiority. "I am strong; you are weak (another error) therefore I am superior to you. Remember Ronnie Barker, John Cleese etc. "I look up to him"."I look down on him", and so on. I am sure we have all seen it and it is surprising how a comedy situation can carry so much truth. So what to do? As it said in DESIDERATA, "Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit". As far as possible, KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. If they are your friends; and some friends can be your worse enemies, then you may have to tolerate them but keep off the subject of your illness. They do not understand.

Love always. Not self love, that can be destructive, but Unconditional Love. To those who upset you, pass them by. Do not be unkind but do not allow their suggestions to overwhelm you. They sometimes mean well but there is no UNDERSTANDING. Being forced to do things (come on, let's go and see Aunt Mabel) is not good. You must make some effort but if you really feel it would upset you then do not grit your teeth and go. You will come back feeling more drained. Let us learn from our mistakes. Love and blessings to all. jonathan.

[Hidden]

I wish my partner would come on here and read the things you put. Your last paragraph is oh so close to the point.

Thanks for the blogs.

Lou. xx

[hairyfairy]

I had that all the time when I was younger, doctors treating me as though it was beyond my control & just dishing out tablets, treating me as though I had an incurable didease. While this maybe compassionate, it`s not helpful at all, quite the reverse. People need doctors who encourage them to be pro-active in managing their problems, not ones who pat them on the head & say never mind, here`s some more pills for you.

[Hidden in reply to hairyfairy]

Hi.hairyfairy.This is not compassion at all. Dishing out pills as you say, is all they can do in the circumstances. I know that some doctors will listen but what can you do in ten minutes? Mine have been good but within the limits of their UNDERSTANDING. They are 'medical' practitioners' and do not necessarily know a lot about nervous illness as they admit themselves, their training in this is minimal. So they resort to pills.

Good luck. Love. jonathan.

[BriarRose]

So true, Jonathan - but, at the moment, for me, so hard to do! "Stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me!" - isn't true. If it were, we wouldn't have slander/libel laws.

Tell a child s/he's thick, tell a woman she's fat, or ugly, tell a man he's "useless" in bed - then say words can't hurt! They can, they do; words are POWERFUL!

Sorry, but something said on here recently has really upset me - I know I should move on but finding it hard Perhaps, as well as avoiding "loud and vexatious" people, we should try to make sure WE'RE not the loud and vexatious person! And if I have ever (unintentionally) hurt anyone on here by what I've said,I apologise unreservedly. But perhaps we should resurrect the old Victorian maxim of "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!"

Love and thanks for all you do on here!

Rose

xxxxx

[Hidden]

Hi. Rose. Care to elaborate via 'messages'? It is difficult to see how you have upset anyone.

But even in the best of regulated circles this can happen unintentionally. Love. jonathan.

[hairyfairy]

That`s all true of me & my past life. I grew up surrounded by inadequat people who bolstered their weak egos by putting me down every which way that they could think of. I was told that I was stupid, ugly, fat & clumsy, not just by my peers, but by people who should have known better, adults. The thing I could never understand was that they just couldn`t see themselves as they really were, just pathetic people with no redeeming qualities at all. thet accused me of all the faults that they themselves had, & if I was to meet any of them today, I wouldn`t hesitate to tell them that!