I was just watching a dog who had just had an operation. He had a cone wrapped around his head to stop him licking his wounds. The cone was there to help him heal. After three days you could see the dog had adapted to sleeping, eating, drinking and playing with the cone on. I wonder if the dog knew it was only temporary and would be coming off after a week? Did the dog think it would be permanent?
It made me think of people with Depression and Anxiety. Depression and Anxiety is one of the most pernicious diseases of the 21st century. 20% of people are at one time or the other suffering from depression this year and every year.
Here was a dog with a cone around his head. A person with depression/anxiety walks around with not just a cone but a full body cone that stops them from really integrating into the world. If the depression/anxiety lasts for a long time, then it becomes almost part of their body and personality. Their depression/anxiety seems to define them. It then becomes harder to shift. Sometimes depression/anxiety is endogenous – and a chemical imbalance is there and needs to be addressed. Most times though, it is due to the way a person, thinks, feels, behaves and uses their bodies. It is possible to shift the depression/anxiety but the benefits to remaining in depression/anxiety will need to be challenged if depression/anxiety has been in their lives for a long time. A cone after awhile becomes something familiar. We can easily get used to things. It is not easy to take the cone off, but I know it can be done. It does not have to be permanent.
©2013 Yasmin
Dr Yaz Headley 
Yes with many types of depression the cone can be removed but in my experience not all types. With anxiety the cone can most certainly come off allowing the person to have a life filled with scoops of delicious ice cream & sprinkles!