Hope Drives Treatment

Developing a treatment plan is a critical step in the recovery from an anxiety disorder. I struggled for years trying to treat myself, using self-help methods, diets, etc. These methods were not bad or wrong but there was no structure to them, no support system in place. It wasn’t until I sought professional help that I really began to make noticeable progress in my recovery from this awful disorder.

However, the greatest treatment plan in the world will have limited success without the addition of hope. Although doctors and scientists don’t like to talk about things that can’t be measured, I’m a firm believer that a patients state of mind, call it hope, call it faith, plays a critical role in how well they recover.

I knew the steps I needed to take in order to gain control of my out-of-control anxiety, however it wasn’t until I began to accept, began to have faith that these steps would make me better that I began to make noticeable progress. The mind is a very powerful thing and we have the choice to use it to our advantage or to our disadvantage.

As I move through this experience, I am slowly moving from a place where my daily thoughts were “when I get better I’ll do…” to “every day is a new opportunity to experience the beauty of life”. I now have hope and that hope has given me life.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

-Tao Te Ching