I can relate to this in a weird way. "Anxiety" has been framed as a state to be avoided and that it is harmful. Likewise, as a kid growing up with severe/profound deafness, I was always framed as having a severely limiting disability. These expectations absolutely had an impact on my worldview for a long time -- a Nocebo effect where our belief in the harm will elicit the harm.
Telling someone with Anxiety that what their experiencing is bad will absolutely feed the unwanted consequences of a nocebo. When I stopped believing the label of "bad, awful, pitiful" that was assigned to my disability, I was able to start leveraging and benefiting from the positive elements of my hearing condition -- accepting it for its strengths and focusing less on the disadvantages. I believe we should help folks recognize the potential of their experiences and not just the damage.
Early in my career, I stumbled on the concept of Iatrogenesis and I think your post really reinforces my learning from that. As always, I'm grateful for your writing!
I can relate to this in a weird way. "Anxiety" has been framed as a state to be avoided and that it is harmful. Likewise, as a kid growing up with severe/profound deafness, I was always framed as having a severely limiting disability. These expectations absolutely had an impact on my worldview for a long time -- a Nocebo effect where our belief in the harm will elicit the harm.
Telling someone with Anxiety that what their experiencing is bad will absolutely feed the unwanted consequences of a nocebo. When I stopped believing the label of "bad, awful, pitiful" that was assigned to my disability, I was able to start leveraging and benefiting from the positive elements of my hearing condition -- accepting it for its strengths and focusing less on the disadvantages. I believe we should help folks recognize the potential of their experiences and not just the damage.
Early in my career, I stumbled on the concept of Iatrogenesis and I think your post really reinforces my learning from that. As always, I'm grateful for your writing!