Ok, the title is a bit harsh but fits none the less. Heppers fall in 3 catagories:

 

THE BOO HOOERS: The name speaks for itself, though I have been known to refer to them as the walking dead. It does not matter if they were diagnosed yesterday or 20 yrs ago, they are the doomsayers. Forever lamenting the tragedy of their situation. No doubt on a cornucopia of psyc meds, hate their doctors, damn the world for not being sympathetic enough, slip into regular depressive periods, believe they have a death sentence and live like they have one foot in the grave. You have to be very careful when you find forums or personal support groups filled with these types as they will suck the life out of you while bleeding the life out of themselves.

 

to the boo hooers: get a grip kids, if you choose to continue to wallow in your self pity you will never find out how to live with this disease instead of suffering with it.

 

THE CLUELESS: This is actually my least favorite group of all and I have a very difficult time having patience with this group. I am not talking about the uneducated but eager to learn group. I am referring to those that choose to not educate themselves about their disease and be their own advocates. They trust their doctors to tell them anything they "need to know". They never question what their told, they know nothing about how best care for their own bodies. They rarely seek out the experiences of other heppers and they tend to also be those that drift into the boo hooers.

 

to the clueless: get one real quick kids, this can be a looooong and scary journey when you don't have any idea of what the future holds for you.

 

the third catagory - THE DRAGON SLAYERS: We tend to be a bit waaaay left of center, occasionally a little over zealous. We read all the articles, seek out one another, all over the world,  question everything the doctor says, get involved in advocacy and generally wear out our non heppers with "too much information". We are just as likely as not to bring a subject to the doctor that we know more about than they do. We often take all myriad of supplements that we have carefully researched. We aggressively seek out treatment even when the doc says we don't need it, don't need it, what the hell is that, your not dying you don't need treatment, wow what happened to preventative medicine. We tend to face all of this straight on, with our eyes open, armed to the teeth with a positive attitude and ready to take on anything.

 

to the dragon slayers: give yourself a break every now an again, the burnout factor can be high, exhale often, and try to be kind to the boo hooers and clueless, upon first encounter and then run like hell