I just wanna say I learned a lot from reading this essay, and the subsequent responses. I'm really glad I came across this. I think you got your point across very well. :3
At first I was a little surprised to read that some people wouldn't want to give up their disabilities, but then I began to understand. I've been dealing with depression since I was a child, anxiety as early as elementary school, and it really has shaped me as an adult. The anxiety isn't nearly as bad as it once was (I haven't had a panic attack in almost 2 years now!) but the depression is sometimes as bad as ever. And if I were given the chance to let all these psychological hang ups float away and be free of them, it would be great! But I would also be slightly scared of the shell that would be left behind. This has, unfortunately, been such a huge part of me for so long, I wonder if anything would be left if it were gone. I would be faced with the task of, essentially, reinventing my personality from scratch...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-06-18 06:02 pm (UTC)At first I was a little surprised to read that some people wouldn't want to give up their disabilities, but then I began to understand. I've been dealing with depression since I was a child, anxiety as early as elementary school, and it really has shaped me as an adult. The anxiety isn't nearly as bad as it once was (I haven't had a panic attack in almost 2 years now!) but the depression is sometimes as bad as ever. And if I were given the chance to let all these psychological hang ups float away and be free of them, it would be great! But I would also be slightly scared of the shell that would be left behind. This has, unfortunately, been such a huge part of me for so long, I wonder if anything would be left if it were gone. I would be faced with the task of, essentially, reinventing my personality from scratch...
So yeah. Word to this, so hard. :)