...between someone with mild MI who is lazy and someone with moderate-severe MI who is very strong willed? To me, it seems that these two people would look very similar on the surface. They both would be functional (the mild patient because the disease hasn't taken too much from him, the more severe patient because he fights his illness at every turn), but probably not very successful. Other people who do not know what is going on likely look down on both of them.

I'm asking because I suspect I fit into one of those camps (I am functional but not successful...), but I'm not sure which. I saw a new pdoc today, and she said that my bp was "very mild", which makes me wonder what the cause of all of my life issues is. Am I simply lazy? Or is my illness actually more serious than she thinks, because I did leave out some details during the interview (I don't feel comfortable discussing my scarier symptoms with relative strangers, even pdocs)? I'm confused.

So far, I've had these thoughts concerning the distinction between the mild and lazy (call him Person A), and the moderate-severe and hard-working (Person B):

-Person A gives up very easily on tasks and expects other people to do things for him. He was always like that. Person B tries and fails, tries and fails, tries and fails again...eventually he may stop trying in one area of his life due to learned helplessness, but you can bet that he is still fighting in some other aspect of his life.

-Person A doesn't try to alter his lifestyle to better control his disorder (he doesn't get enough sleep or eat right), while Person B makes these changes to the extent that he is able (which sometimes is only a very small amount).

If you can help me find other distinctions, that would be much appreciated. I feel like Person B in the first example as I don't give up easily, but I definitely am more like Person A in the second. I really need to work on a consistent sleep schedule, eating healthfully, and exercising, but it's hard. I feel like I'm lazy, but I have no control of it. Like some hybrid of A and B. Once I know where I stand, I'll know what to do to correct my problem. If I'm lazy, I'll try to learn how to work harder, probably through therapy. If I'm sick, I'll focus more on my treatment so that I can overcome the factors that make me look lazy.

Thanks for the brainstorming help. A disclaimer: the moderate-severe, strong willed person does not have a very severe illness. Obviously, in the case of very severe MI, a strong will is not going to make an ounce of a difference in getting a person to be functional.

Thanks again!