Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Support Groups And Me

The theory that misery loves company is just that-a theory. I don’t believe it’s a proven fact. Yet I wonder if that’s the idea that gave birth to support groups. If misery loves company, let’s get all the miserable people together and…. what? What is supposed to happen now? Are they less miserable because they found a fellow crack baby with a speech impediment who survives by prostituting themselves and was recently diagnosed with cancer, to drink coffee and chat with? I would like to believe it’s a bit more than that but I have no idea. The reason this topic is presently foremost in my brain is because someone recently tried drafting me into a support group or more accurately a support friendship since it would have been only the two of us. Those few people who are kind enough to occasionally read my blog know I have/had a brain tumor and was in Boston undergoing Proton Beam Radiation in February/March, while we were looking in to the different treatment options available a friend of a friend spoke to their cousin about a different type of radiation that he had undergone, thus introducing to this guy I don’t know and if I randomly met him wouldn’t necessarily want to know, the notion that we are comrades of sorts. Of course as my luck would have it six months later he followed up on our imaginary ‘been there done that’ friendship. After delaying and pushing him off as long as possible without a restraining order, I agreed to meet him, not knowing exactly what the hell he wanted. Turns out he only wanted to talk. Maybe it’s because I’m not in touch with my emotions (is depression an emotion? Because I’m definitely in touch with that most of the time)maybe it’s because it takes me a long time to feel comfortable with new people, maybe it’s just because talking is not my forte, but those couple of hours were of no physiological benefit to me though I did have a short moment of feeling all warm and fuzzy inside that comes from being helpful on account of he seemed to really benefit, which makes me wonder if there really is some benefit that much like all other good things in life, just seem to pass me by. Maybe that’s what I’m missing in life. Does anybody have any positive experiences with the numerous support groups available for the various real and imagined ailments and mental conditions? Or negative? This could be what is holding back that feeling of happiness that has been eluding me all my life, maybe I should start my own online support group, any one care to join?

3 comments:

frum single female said...

refuah shalemah my friend.

comfortablynumb said...

i assume you mean for my tumor and not my mental condition, either way i thank you

frum single female said...

oy! i meant for your tumor. but i do hope you have peace of mind in general.