jrae, you have had the strength to get to this point in life, you will find the strength to get to the clinic with your parents.

Regardless of how weak we may feel from time to time, there is an instinctive inner strength that keeps us putting one foot in front of the other.

Don't allow your anxiety to get the best of you now, you are on a journey that just may be the right place at the right time to find the answers you, and your parents, have been seeking. When you find your anxiety getting the best of you, take a few very deep breaths and concentrate on calm; find a calm place (my place is a forest with a stream) that you can imagine and put yourself there.

Maybe you can make a list...a list of things that you are concerned about. A list of questions you may have. Not what you think your mom and dad may ask. This visit is about you...concentrate of what you want answers to. A list of things like why am I like this; why have I done this and that; what future do I have with this condition. Let your fears, your anxiety, your inner thoughts, yourself be the guide in making the list.

You may never need the list during the visit, but you will have it in your pocket.

As already stated, all you can do during the visit is to be as honest as possible with your responses to their questions. Don't be afraid of the consequences. Allow the vulnerable part of you out; don't hide your feelings. No one, not even the Mayo Clinic, can help you if you hide your feelings. Someone said to me recently, " You are most generous in that; willing to model vulnerability and strength." The more you divulge the more someone can help you to understand yourself. Vulnerability is strength of character; our pain causes us to build our character.

I am 61 years old and have been dealing with mental illness ALL of my life. It is a doable thing, but first it is paramount to understand yourself and what makes you tick. That is the answer I hope you find at the Mayo
Clinic.

Let yourself out while you are there. Listen while you are there. One of the mistakes many of us make during therapy is not wanting to hear what is being said from the other chair, or from the other side of the desk. This is because we fear that if we listen we may lose touch with what is most familiar to us; our dark side. There is light out there...I PROMISE THIS!!

I know I can be long-winded...sorry about that.