Posted by Michael (209.135.71.98) on July 31, 1999 at 15:06:40:
No attacks on this one please. This is my opinion. You can disagree but please don't call me names or say you hate my posts. If that's your reaction, take a deep breath and think about what I've written. Maybe even take a day to think about it before responding. For many this may be a weird way of thinking.
Before I came to this board and I never thought of clusters as "demons" or "devils". I thought and still think of them as headaches which are part of my life that I have to deal with.
I know that the use of "demon"for most of you is figurative but I wonder if in some ways it is counter-productive When you externalize an illness you can experience learned helplessness.
I try to think "clusters are my illness, my problem and I have to deal with them". This might explain why I've developed alternative solutions to always taking medicine.
This doesn't make me special or unique. It doesn't set me above everyone else.
I just wanted to post about this to help anyone who might be struggling with "how to think about clusters". Demonizing them might not be a beneficial thing in the long run. It may undermine our own feelings of control.
Michael
P.S. Yes, some of you may have used "demon" as a joke, but we have to be careful. We might start believing it.