The Dangers Of Suffering In Silence
There are many reasons why sufferers of a mental illness or anxiety disorder may wish to keep it to themselves. A commonly held attitude to such conditions is that they are simply something that happens to everyone, that some people just deal with while others make it into an illness. If you were convinced that revealing your condition would lead to being labeled a fraud, it would be entirely normal for you to keep it quiet.
The problem with this approach to mental health issues is that it puts all the burden of recovery onto you. This would be one thing if the condition were something that could be addressed with a few paracetamol in the morning and lots of fluids. Mental illness is much more complex, and it needs to be treated as such. Suffering in silence is not a good option.
Anxiety disorders are – one has to confess – clever in a way that many other illnesses are not. To overcome an anxiety disorder or a mental illness, it is essential to gather your mental strength for a fight with the unwelcome thoughts which are assailing you. However, your condition often attacks your reserves of mental strength or, worse yet, attacks you using your own mental strength.
Sometimes people with these illnesses are described by those unaware of the reality as being “their own worst enemy”. This is partially true, if only by accident. In truth, they are playing host to their worst enemy, which in some ways is worse still. Fighting that which is unseen is no easy battle.