We think sometimes we're only drawn to the good, but we're actually drawn to the authentic. We like people who are real more than those who hide their true selves under layers of artificial niceties.
When I was down during the first week or ten days of my crisis, the Descent phase during which, I’m told, I was visibly receding, I was seen by many different members of the hospital staff. Many of these same people came and visited me later when I was up and lucid — Reemergence phase — and there was an overwhelmingly and surprisingly positive emotional reaction in virtually all of them. Not bedside manner or professional veneer, but seasoned pros genuinely delighted to see the happy outcome their calling had produced. One after another. Apparently, they don’t often get to see the full range of a patient’s journey.
