Me: "So wait. I'm making sure I hear you correctly. You said this first started when?"
Her: "Like two and a half years ago."
*silence*
Her: "I know. I know I should've come before now. I know. "
Me: *silence*
Her: "You are probably thinking I'm crazy."
Me: "I didn't say that."
Her: "You didn't have to."
*silence*
Her: "I was just . . .I was just so, so. . . ." *starts crying*
Me: "Afraid?"
Her: *crying and nodding*
Me: "It's okay. You're here now."
Her: "I've been scared every day. And I would want to come but then I would just get too scared of some bad news."
Me: "I get it. I'm serious. I do."
Her: "You do?"
Me: "We all scared of something."
*silence*
Her: "What are you scared of?"
Me: "The same things you scared of, I think. Something bad. Something taking me from my family. Something that make it where I can't do what I want to do in my life."
Her: *staring*
Me: "Or rather what I feel like I'm supposed to do."
*silence*
Her: "Can I ask you a question?"
Me: "Sure."
Her: "Do you think I'm gonna be okay?"
Me: "I think anything is better than living every day in fear. So yeah. I think today you are more okay than yesterday. And that's a good thing."
Her: *starts crying again*
*silence*
Her: "I'm so relieved. To tell somebody. To get this weight off my chest."
Me: "And I'm happy that you are here and that we are sitting here together."
Her: *smiles*
Me: *smiles back*
I remember a few years ago when I had a health scare. I had something happening in my body that didn't seem right. I worried for two full weeks. When I finally told Harry I was crying before I could even explain. Man. I was so scared when I finally went to get it checked out.
Whew.
And no--I didn't wait two and a half years but even in those two and a half minutes that passed between the doctor looking at my results and telling me what could have been life-altering information, I fully understood how she felt.
Damn, I did.
Look, man. Fear can present itself in all kinds of ways. Sometimes it marches in like a King Kong with big muscles and gnashing teeth. Other times it's a smooth operator and completely in disguise. And the only things to take it down are love and truth. And today they both showed up like a badass tag team.
Sure did.
I love it when fear loses. And today it did.
Hell yeah.
***
#amazinggrady #fearisaliar #getitchecked #maketheappt #knowingisbetterthanworrying #loveisthewhat #andfearisapunkassbeeyotch
And if one suffers from anxiety and anxiety tells us all the time that something is horribly wrong and we know that anxiety lies it is almost impossible to tell the difference between what may be real and what may not be real. I get this post. I get it real good.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt a comfort in knowing that you read my words. Especially being such a prolific blogger and busy grandmama. I appreciate you. And yes, anxiety can put you in a headlock that makes you too afraid to move. It's hard.
DeleteI've had so many patients who don't seek care because they think the treatment is worse than the disease and I can't really argue with that. That being said I still think it's better to know what you're dealing with and then you can make an informed decision with all the facts laid out, whether that is treatment or not. I don't always think treatment is the best option. We like to pretend we have conquered death and disease but we haven't really, we have extended life but not ended suffering.
ReplyDelete