Hurdles. (John)

When I first met Elle I was struck by her ability to analyse some of the ways I go about explaining/coping with things. She spotted something that one of my favourite psychiatrists noticed when I was under her care. I use diminishing language to cope with major events, especially events relating to my own mental health. I used to (and still would) refer to a full attack of psychosis as a “blip”. That’s how my psychiatrist would greet me, “Hello John, had any blips this month?”

The last time I saw Elle face to face I was speaking to her about how coming into the social media space may cause a few “hurdles”. That was me using that diminishing language again. Obviously we can see from Elle’s posts that what she’s dealing with is a bit more than just a hurdle. When she tells us that her condition is taking up much of my energy just to cope with it and try to deal with my head. …trust me I can empathise this is more than just a hurdle. A hurdle would suggest something that can be tackled in a single bound and left behind you defeated.

However I believe there are other types of hurdles out there. They’re the ones that can be tackled a little bit at a time. I’ve been where Elle is. I have a condition that sits never far from me at any given time. I’ve managed to climb wearily over several of its hurdles. The condition will keep throwing up these hurdles. Sometimes we need others to help us negotiate them. I’m glad Elle is engaging in IRL time. It’s important. IRL is a constant reminder we’re not alone. I think it beats the social media hands down. I look forward to when we can next get a face to face chat and laugh again at my quirky use of language.