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A Brief Introduction To The Health Anxiety Centre's LongSheet No 3
Web Page About Five Essential Therapy Areas To Think About

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'The best way to combat evil is to make energetic progress in what is good.'

(The 'I-Ching', or 'Book Of Changes'.)

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The Five Hidden Therapies

I refer to these easy 'therapies' as 'The Hidden Therapies' because they are simply commonplace areas of our daily world that we have so large in our view, so 'in-our-faces', throughout our days, that we are inclined to no longer see them, or appreciate their value, if handled properly towards a therapeutic end.

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IMPORTANT NOTE I merely show, on this web page, areas of life that require fair consideration and concerted effort and attention, by almost everybody.     I say 'almost' everybody because athletes don't need reminding about physical fitness and some of them still get anxiety and/or Health Anxiety.     People whose artwork currently graces walls of art galleries or corridors of colleges and schools may need no prompts from me about how they should get involved in being more Creative, and many of them still suffer anxiety and/or Health Anxiety! I really offer only gentle reminders about important  areas of daily life in which a fresh outlook may be wise to cultivate.     You can find your own way, in those areas, to the therapeutic pastimes that you are already passionate about trying, or to some new therapeutic pastimes that may prove promising and about which you yet feel no passion, at all!

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This page is based upon text of a successful thread that I started, on another Health Anxiety board, a long time ago.

I was asked about how I'd beaten my own Health Anxiety.

Well...the expression 'beaten it', in this case, ought not to be given the stamp of finality that I would so love to give it.
    In my case, that term 'beaten it' refers only to having the Health Anxiety Beast under much greater control.
    I would still experience the start of the worry cycle, as it thudded into my heart-hammered chest and nerve-tingled face and made me realise that I was confronted by a huge crater of distraction that I could either step into, or walk around.

These days, almost invariably...I walk around it.

To some, these aspects of life, and the manipulation of them, will not appear to be therapies, at all...they will seem, in fact, to some, to be so trivial and so unlike officially recognised therapies, that many will wonder why I bothered to fashion an entire web page out of these things at all.
   To partially explain...if anxiety is a primitive reflex of survival that is coming out at inopportune moments (and dismantling our daily lives when it does so) then, it may well be right there, in the 'primitive' that lie the truths about what it is that slowly, insidiously cranks up our resting levels of anxiety, initially, and what maintained its climb through those higher and higher points until we began to suffer in the way in which we do.

If Health Anxiety, or any other form of anxiety, is an ugly and unnecessary 'Back To Prehistoric Basics' journey for us, I think that the therapies most effectively used against it, from those readily available to us, must be looked for among those same human nature basics - and, that is why the following recommendations seem so far from anything useful, just yet!

CREATIVITY

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'Creativity is a drug I cannot live without!'  Cecil B DeMille (1881-1959)

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Right now, the Health Anxiety sufferer is witnessing HER OWN imagination working against HER OWN mind, about HER OWN body!

Doesn't that seem like a terrible waste?  Does it not, further, seem like a terrible waste that ought not to be difficult to remedy?  Even further...does it not seem wise to attempt to remedy this and see what changes in feelings such creativity and artistic therapies available...can bring about?

This is an ongoing thing and it can get only worse, if allowed to persist. Something MUST BE DONE to re-direct that imagination (it will always find something, because that is one of its natural drives) and make it work elsewhere.

THIS INVOLVES DELIBERATE ENTRY INTO ACTIVITIES IN
EVERY ART-FORM THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY GET INTO!

Dance? Painting? Sketching? Photography? Model Making? Gardening? Sculpture? Pottery? Interior Decorating? Woodworking? Stitch Craft? Cookery?...

WHAT WOULD IT BE, FOR YOU?

Which of the above?
Which would you do, if not one of the above?

Without this being done, the imagination is unable to find a new place to dwell.

Without involvement in things such as the above, your imagination will certainly find...somewhere...to dwell...

...it'll dwell in, and on...you!

Without this being done, therefore, you will continue to watch yourself betrayed by this very imagination that is supposed to be there to pleasure you and take you OUT OF YOURSELF!

When asked about Creativity, Member 'ButterflyEx', (Gina) had this to say...

Member: 'ButterflyEx'... "Actually, I don’t feel like a creative person at all!"     I feel as though I have a very hard time concentrating on things. I also have an extremely hard time in 'creating' something original that hasn't been inspired by something else.     Ironically, I do a lot of things...I like many hobbies, but I don't consider them to be creative. I guess that, when I think about creativity and what it means, I think of someone just making up something that has never been seen, or talked about, before.     Creative people, to me, are people that come up with innovative, original works of art, or music, or some design of some sort that is completely individual and as original as a fingerprint.     The things I do, I feel like I don't create them all on my own. They feel like they are bits and pieces of other things that have already been done. I'm an instruction manual person. I can really follow directions and make something, but I have a hard time making something out of nothing. I can't really perform without some kind of guide.     Inspiration doesn't come out of the blue for me. I'm also a very linear and organized type of person- I don’t have much of a free hand, like letting out feelings on a canvas or something like that.     I was trying to make a montage of unique photos, one time, and I just couldn’t seem to freely place the photos in an unorganized way. To me, things have to have a line or square pattern somehow, in order for me to be able to create." "The people around me are very impressed by my hobbies.     They always are telling me that I am very creative, but I don't see it. I just see myself as doing something that, maybe, is not very popular with other people, but I don't see it as creative at all.     Maybe because, as a child, the things I would create weren't really admired that much. I felt like I would never get recognition for the things I would create.     My parents weren't really into art things. I felt like they never really understood what it meant to me. Even now, as an adult, I don't share all of my creations with people. I mostly do them for my own personal benefit.     Most of my creations are things that I hold very dear to me, like they are pieces of my innermost feelings and thoughts.  I couldn't imagine sharing that with other people. I haven't, yet. I only share a trickle of my things...not all of them." "Pastimes are great for controlling anxiety.     Once you're on a full blown panic, it's very hard to concentrate and get your mind off of your fears, turning to your pastimes, but before you get that panic attack and before you're having a full blown Health Anxiety crisis, the pastimes really help.     The benefits I've felt from it have been more mental clarity, being more rational with thoughts, less worry time, better self-esteem because you're looking at something that you have helped create. It makes you think of yourself as something more than just a worrier. It makes you feel like you have a presence, also, in this world." "There are a lot of benefits from getting involved in something creative.  It reduces stress, reduces tension, helps block your mind from thinking about disease after disease.     It helps control depression and increases your self-esteem. I can't imagine going through Health Anxiety and not having my pastimes.     You have to have some pastime...something you like to do that helps you feel like you're part of the world, also.     It helps connect you with reality.  No matter how fearful you are- how much you are panicked, you're still a person with dreams and the ability to make things, no matter how small." "I love to draw. I don't draw from my mind though.     I'm not the type of person that can come up with a scenic picture in my head or an abstract painting in my mind. I basically take scenes from magazines or books that emotionally move me, and I recreate them, in my sketch book.     I many times add things to it that are not in the original, or I add something which I see in my mind, but it's not in the real photo, and I just sketch away.     As I sketch, it feels like I can place myself in that sketch and I can almost feel what that person feels or I put my own feelings into them of what I feel they represent in that photo and it's like going to another world and leaving this one behind for a while." "I also write. I write short stories or long ones, but I write a lot. I get lost in my own stories and I actually like to read them like I would any book from the book store.     It's like peeping into others' lives. I live things through my characters and their situations in life that I don't live through my own. I like building my characters. I like building their personalities and their histories...what they are like, what they have been through, what is going on in their lives now". "It's very relaxing to just step out of your own life for a while and enter these other lives and see what they are like." And, Gina has other creative interests... "I love designing homes."     "Architectural design is something I really enjoy and the computer has made me be able to create designs that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do, by hand.     I make these architectural designs for my books, mostly. I really enjoy laying out the different floors of the houses and their decor and ground layout. It makes me feel as though I'm taking a virtual trip to this other place and leaving my own routine behind.     I love to decorate miniature houses. I built one and I love to buy things to decorate it. When there is something I can't find at the store, I make it myself for it and it's something that just makes me forget my worries.     I make American flags computer wallpapers. I make state flags and historical flags. I also make military flags." "All American flags!" "It's very time-consuming, but I love the colors and the history of recreating these flags on the computer.     I love to think about what these flags meant to the people who made them so long ago. It's become one of my favorite pastimes.     This is one of the few things I do which I actually share with other people. People seem to be so amazed by their creation that it does make me feel good for being able to do it." Then, Gina had an important addition to make to her replies... "If I didn't have my pastimes, I would literally go insane.     I would be depressed and it would feel as though I had nothing left...nothing left but constant thoughts of fear and disease and dying. Pastimes give you a break from all of that.     If you didn't have them, then there'd be no break from the worry. There would be no point in living if you couldn't lose yourself in something you like to do that takes you somewhere else for a while."

I'm not little-old-nursey, here, telling you how healthy it can be to keep yourself busy in your environment!

This goes far, far deeper than that!

The list of those art forms in which you become involved will reduce, as some get boring or totally unsuitable, while others will make you return to them as soon as you can.
    Those are they that will keep your imagination's focus on much healthier things - BUT ONLY AFTER IT LEARNS TO BE RE-DIRECTED, and it fights you, a lot, at first.

If you are going to try the following therapies, then think about this, first...if you're only going to try them for a couple of weeks, don't bother...don't waste your time- stay as you are, now. A few weeks is simply not long enough and trying and failing will leave you less willing to try other therapeutic approaches, later.
    If you're going to try them for around a month, then you'll have at least that long in which a spark of 'something' may just begin.
    But, if you're going to have powerful results, then you must be trying these (and, I keep changing this length of time, really, every time I do this, myself) you must, I'd imagine, try them for at least TWO MONTHS - longer is a bonus in your area of chance at success.

I can hear you saying...

'Yeah, but while I have this rapid-fire thinking and obsessing about my body, I'd never be able to concentrate on any new art form that I might try to involve myself in.'

And, of course, you're right. As I so often have to say...in the end, it's a personal choice: sink or swim!

Our Board Member, 'Felicity93' is another individual who certainly knows the value of creative art...

Member: 'Felicity93'... "I like to express myself. I like painting...I have always painted and I do tend to keep writing stuff down, now. It helps you to forget for a while.     I think maybe anxiety sufferers think too much and I try to put that energy into something else, like painting, but it doesn't always work.     I like painting, reading, writing, music, design...I just love doing. I can get completely lost in painting and that's wonderful...as my mind is occupied.     I just had a thought, here- maybe, I need constant stimulation. I think when I'm bored, I can't handle it very well. I'd be depressed and bored- 'What's the point?', type of thing.     Anything can be creative...even doing a jigsaw puzzle, knitting a jumper, doing a cross-stitch pattern, painting a beautiful sunset, writing a diary, planting some flowers and watching them grow, decorating your home, playing an instrument, anything that requires you to 'do', is creative.     Writing a poem or reading poetry, designing a birthday card for a friend, design a web page, making clay pots and making flower arrangements.     It's important to have a outlet an interest of some sort to take your mind of anxiety/depression."

All of the time you're trying out these therapies, you'll be repeatedly brought back to thoughts, and fears, about your current problem- the body, the mind and the will don't sing in harmony as much as the movies would have us believe.

And, as I once read, in an excellent book on Nervous Troubles...

'Nature never heals in a straight line!'

So, don't imagine that you'll have this night-turns-to-day, sudden, breakthrough during the first few weeks, or more. If you think that this is how it will be, then you'd hurt yourself, more, by trying any of what I describe, below.
    It is part of human nature to have the imagination desperately trying to CLING TO WHATEVER IT IS BROUGHT TO BEAR UPON AND ALLOWED TO LINGER NEAR...including horrid things in your body and mind...or in your mind, about your body!?

• Picture your imagination as being a child that has just picked up a loaded handgun and you feel fearful... (...your imagination has just terrified you with what it has hold of?)

• So, you walk to it and coax the handgun out of the grip of the child...(...you must take your body conditions and functions our of the grip of your imagination?)

• You then re-direct the child's fascination to a formerly much loved, much safer toy to leave it with... (...you distract your imagination towards new, or returned to, hobbies and interests and happier directions.)

I know, I Know, I know!  Ian's cracking up, again!
It makes more sense than you think!  Read it, again!

How long you try to console yourself/your imagination for, before giving up...is up to you!

Personally? ...

I'd rather hand my imagination some nice things to distract it...not leave it to toy with graver, more frightening pursuits!
    So, for a long time, your imagination has been quite satisfied by being soaked up in obsessive images of what will happen to your body, next, because of your own fears and suspicions feeding it.
    It is no short process, this 're-directing' of your imagination into those arts...it is long and frightening (in its apparent ongoing failure feeling) but, it MUST BE DONE!

Eventually, one day, while sitting at home, standing up at the sink, walking from place to place, you'll have a sudden 'IDEA' about how to...

• '...do that picture better!'
• '...take photographs without the blue cast on a cold, Wintry day!'
• '...stop having so much more clay on the bedroom floor than there is on the pottery wheel!'
• '...how to stop dancing on other people's feet more than you manage to dance on your own!'

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ONE DAY, IT JUST...HAPPENS!

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Here is what our Member, 'Cattia', had to say, on Creativity...

Member: 'Cattia'... I have always been quite creative.     You would think that being a teacher would be quite a creative job, but...to be honest, it doesn't offer as many opportunities for creativity as I would like - the curriculum is very prescriptive, so there is little opportunity for students to actually be creative.     They are also reluctant to do so, because everything that they do is assessed, so we are judging them from day one, and this is one sure-fire way to stem someone's creativity.     If I ever had kids, and if I had the money, I would like to send them to an 'alternative' school where there was a lot less emphasis on assessment.     On the other hand, I suppose...when they got out into the real world they will be judged on the outcome of what they produce, so they may as well get used to it. Oh dear! Do I sound cynical?     When my Health Anxiety was at its worst, my Mum bought me some glass paints, and this has become one of my favourite creative pastimes. I paint presents for people, like decorative sets of wine glasses or vases.     I find it very therapeutic and relaxing, and also very satisfying. Glass painting has been very beneficial for me, and it is one thing that I find I can get totally engrossed in...which stops me focusing on my anxiety.     I am writing a novel too, although to be honest, I am a little despondent about this, because it was meant to be a deep and brooding exposition of one woman's voyage towards self discovery, and it has become more like a shopping novel that you would pick up in an airport lounge! Oh dear!     I love writing, and find it enormously cathartic. I write a Journal- not every day...but, when I feel I have something important to say." So, I asked Cattia... 'Do you think that there are particular benefits available to anxiety sufferers of all types from involvement in creative pastimes, art forms, etc.?' "I think involvement in creative pastimes and art forms is absolutely essential. I recently read a book called 'The Van Gough Blues', which talks about how creative people can deal with depression.     This book really helped me to realise that creative pursuits are not just helpful for those of us dealing with what we might term 'mental illness'... they are actually keys to working through the illness and finding a way to recovery that really works.     I would hate being unable to involve myself in my creative pastimes, though! As it is, I have a very limited amount of time to spend on them. I would love to have more time to engage in creative pursuits, but...you have to bring the money home!     I sometimes think it would be great to write professionally, but then it wouldn't be a hobby any more and that might take the fun and enjoyment out of it." "I can add glass painting to our growing list of pastimes! It's fun and it saves a lot of money on birthday and Christmas presents.  I also think writing poetry is something anyone can do and it is remarkably helpful, because it's a good way to vent your emotions.     My number one would be Journal writing.  Nobody else has to see it, but it is a great way to express yourself."

One day, a much more attractive, absorbing target for your imagination to focus upon JUST COMES ALONG and claims you back, for itself, and for a healthy reason.

RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THEN, your imagination would usually have swung onto yet another miserable body obsession - but, this time, one day...it simply won't!

That is the only time you'll find that you have any faith in involvement in this therapy area working for you.

So, don't just think about it!
Stop doubting, it, and just...get Creating!

ANGER

IT ABSOLUTELY MUST COME OUT!

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'Anger, as soon as fed, is dead- 'Tis starving makes it fat.'

Emily Dickinson (1830-1866) Poems, 2nd Series, 1891)

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You need a way to vent a buried anger!

Writing on a message board, or talking to someone about your anger, while taking you some considerable way towards achieving this, is likely to be only relieving a part of an anger that has long since dug it's talons into you and decided to stay, and fester!

AN ESSENTIAL NOTE ABOUT ANGER

It's important, though, to remember that deliberated-upon anger will simply NOT WORK!

This should be naturally brought out...not given the 'Screenplay' treatment of being manufactured by you, at a time chosen by you.
    Let your anger choose when it wants to come out, as it usually does. You must have access to a stand-by therapy to which you can turn, to vent your rage on. If you have such a place of outlet...just LEAVE IT, READY...FOR THE NEXT REAL, SPONTANEOUS TIME THAT YOU FEEL YOUR FURY READY TO COME OUT, given that your surroundings, location and company (and laws!) allow you to.

• NOTE OF CAUTION:  If you're chatting to the Vicar, in the high street, and you feel a slaughterous fury coming on, for whatever reason...don't let it all out!  Folks'll talk and they'll cancel your Parish magazine subscription. Bloodthirsty street slaughter can be such a party pooper!

• If you're at home, with nobody around you to get upset at your strange, wild behaviour (especially kids?), go to your punch bag, pillow, or whatever, and...do let it all out, unless the vicar is due to call!

At least you'll be saved the embarrassment of having nobody to lead you in prayers, next Sunday!

Read what some of our Members said, when asked about ANGER...

Member: 'ErikPA'... I feel that we all have that Beast inside us- that beast of Rage-&-Fury that causes some persons to do things that are seen, by Society, as wrong. I think we have learned, through thousands of years of evolution, to suppress that Beast...to control it.     I think many factors are involved, Genetics, Social, Economic and early childhood experiences...all play a part. So, yes...I have that deep core of Rage-&-Fury that wants to come out, but never will, because I can control myself and not give into moments of anger that might cause that Beast to emerge. I would like nothing more than to smack some guy across the head for cutting me off while driving - who hasn't had that 'smell' of Rage-&-Fury about such things.     I'm not frightened that my repressed Rage-&-Fury will come out. As a mature adult, I think that I can control any that I may feel, unless it was a matter of personal survival or that of my family. I think any buried emotion can have a negative effect on a person's mental health. How much that plays a part in Health Anxiety would depend on the individual. I think that there are many safer ways to express anger other than to hurt someone or something...exercise, jogging, working out in the gym.     Anger should be expressed and not repressed, but done in such a way that nobody else is harmed. If healthy ways to express anger cannot be found, then talking with a therapist and expressing your anger in words rather than action would be the prudent course to take.

And, to further illustrate the tendency for humans to know, very well, when they are harbouring an inner fury that needs to be vented, I asked Member 'ButterflyEx' (Gina) about this subject, with...'Do you know yourself to have a deep core of rage/fury that wants to come out?'

Member: 'ButterflyEx'... "Yes. I have been battling anger for a very long time now. Most of the time I feel as though there is rage inside of me that is just looking for the 'right' opportunity to come out.     I sometimes go through situations in my life where I have imagined myself lashing out in rage and fury in my mind, even though I haven't actually done it.     When I see myself in my mind lashing out this way, it feels as though that lash-out was the answer to all of my problems, even though, realistically, I know it's not.     Everyday things feel like hurdles I have to combat to keep my rage down. It seems like the 'little things' of life that others take for granted and just laugh off, burn inside of me for the longest time in rage.     It is very difficult to even explain to someone how much fury something small has caused me because most people would not understand why something trivial would cause such deep seated anger." I then asked Gina... 'Do you 'smell' that you have a deep core of rage/fury that wants to, but hasn't come out?' "Absolutely.  I deal with this problem every day. It feels like the person I show (to) people is just one side of me, but that there is another side of me which is extremely volatile.     It's a side that feels like it's on the brink of coming out all of the time, for years now. I can almost 'smell' (for lack of a better word) the rage just waiting to come out.     I see it when I'm confronted with a situation that really bothers me or irritates me, I can see my impatient reaction to it but underneath is the boiling fury, the need to lash out."     I do fear my own anger.  I fear it for many reasons. I fear lashing out to the point of losing control." "It feels like..." "...the same adrenaline that drives the anxiety, drives the anger..." ...as well, so it's hard for my body to distinguish between the two." "As my anger rises, the feelings of an oncoming panic attack also rise, which makes me even more frustrated. I don't want to have a panic attack at that moment, I want to lash out but it seems like my body is unwilling to cooperate. This frightens me about my anger.     Before I lash out, I take a lot of things into consideration, because I fear a panic attack.     It feels like my body doesn't know where to stop getting 'hyped up' and the adrenaline rush just continues and continues..." "...until what I feel is no longer anger- it's panic!" "I have to forget about my anger at that moment.     It's a horrible feeling, to want to express rage only to feel your body going to pieces...in pure panic.     My heart races, my hands start to shake, before I know it, I'm in full panic attack instead of rage. It feels like I can lash out better in private." So, I asked... 'Do you sense any form of describable connection between buried rage and Health Anxiety?' "I think that there is a connection... ...a definite link. I remember that when my anxiety started as a child, I had already been an angry child.     The anxiety made me an angrier child, so it's very hard to think of what came first. The anger?...or the anxiety?" "It seems possible that my anxiety and the inability to cope with it effectively, as a child, brought about anger and rage because of the feelings of constant insecurity and constant threat.     Threat can have anyone's adrenaline moving and when you're feeling threatened all of the time, it's normal to experience extreme anger. Its like lashing out in protection or something.     Then again, when I see how anger can make a panic attack come around, I sometimes wonder if my anger and my need to repress it, brought about 'panic' and 'fear' in order to suppress this anger and avoid it from coming out. I've always felt guilty about being angry, especially as a child.     Maybe, my own mind made this fear in order for me to not display this anger. I don't know what I'm angry at though. I just can't remember." Then, Gina expressed her disagreement with my own personal conviction that to get that anger out, to express it satisfactorily, but responsibly, would mean to be left feeling less anxious and less agitated, by saying the following to my next question: 'Do you feel that anger is best kept in, no matter how safe it is to allow it to get out?' "I think it's best kept in. I know that people will say it's healthy to let out but I just don't see it, at least for myself.     I've noticed that the more I express anger and let it come out, the worse it becomes actually. There is no cooling off period where it feels like I vented and it's all over. No. Not even remotely that way.     It feels like the expression is a green light to keep right on going and getting even more worked up about it.     Maybe, letting it out helps some people, but not me. The more I think about an angry situation, the worse it becomes and the angrier I feel about it.     The more I express anger, the worse I become and the more intensely I express it. From the silent treatment to a raised voice, to yelling and then finally screaming my head off and being extremely verbally abusive."

ON ANGER: What can this subject be but another matter for your own choice? Anger is designed to destroy, scare and repel. If it's allowed out, it can certainly do those things, even to the degree whereat somebody would be right in thinking themselves to be in terrible danger from injury, or death.

But...what will all that prehistorically programmed anger, inside you, do to you...if you don't point it somewhere other than at yourself by leaving it inside you?

CRYING

CRYING IS DESPERATELY IMPORTANT!

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'Eyes that do not cry do not see.'  (Anonymous- Swedish Proverb)

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If you are that you can't quite manage to cry, find a way to force yourself, but you MUST CRY to get out the sorts of misery that lingers beneath your surface and for a reason about which you don't even have a clue when you're doing the crying.

Sometimes, you need not even know the original cause, to make crying into a useful therapy/catharsis.

It pays to use sad movies, sad music, sad reminders and walking through old, sad memory type places.

WHICHEVER WAY YOU CHOOSE, YOU MUST
GET CRYING AND...

GET THAT PRESSURE OUT!

Member: 'HeatherWorries'... "I am a crier, always have been. It's amazing how I try not to cry in my moments of anxiety. I think I try to hide that I am feeling so anxious. But, crying is such a great outlet for me.     I almost always feel better after I cry. I would have to say that I cry more than most. I am very sensitive and tend to take things the wrong way. It's hard for me to hold my emotions in so crying is always the outlet.     I probably cry a little too much. But, if it helps...why not? I mean, I'm not the biggest baby you have ever seen. I don't cry in public, but I never think about crying before I do it- it just happens, and I let it.     I almost always know exactly why I'm crying, but there have been times (I can count them on one hand, though) when I cried for absolutely no reason at all. I would love to know why I do this!" "Crying always makes me feel better. I do get a stuffy nose afterward, but it's soon gone and..." I feel a release of emotions! I don't feel so burdened by my thoughts! "I even feel better after crying when I am not having anxiety. I cry when I am overjoyed, like at weddings and things. I like to quote one of my favorite movies, 'Steel Magnolias', 'Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.' It is! My boyfriend thinks that, when I cry, it's always his fault and it's not. But, I don't think he knows how much I am hurting until he sees me cry." "But, I've only ever burst into tears during a panic attack. Sometimes, it's uncontrollable, but most of the time I do not try to control my tears. Eventually they'll dry.     I've never been afraid to cry in front of anyone. I don't have anything to hide from anyone. People know that I am an emotional person. Although, 99% of the time, I keep this under wraps at work- or at least try to. I'm not afraid, or ashamed, to cry if I am really upset.     If someone was upset by my crying, I would definitely try to stifle it. My nephew is so cute when I have been around him and have been crying. He just comes up to me and gives me a kiss. He is only a year and a half. What a sweet boy!     I don't think anyone has been truly upset by my crying in the past. At least, they haven't said so. I know that my family doesn't like to see me cry, but they aren't upset with me if I do cry." "It's harder for me to cry when someone else is crying. I want to be strong for that person and not cry.     When my grandfather was sick, my mom was crying a lot and I did my best not to cry- especially not in front of her. I wanted her to know that I was there for her and that she didn't have to worry about me.     I think crying is immensely important in helping me deal with my Health Anxiety! Like I said, it's an outlet. And, other than getting angry, I just get sad and cry. If I didn't do it, I think I would be a raging mad woman! Being unable to cry would be a terrible feeling. I almost count on crying to make me feel a little better."

Misery, like anger (recently, or anciently caused), goes outwards or it goes inwards: make it move outwards and it's mostly gone.
    Allow it to remain moving inwards, by keeping it in, and you will win yourself only bad company...for around 30 years and a lot more suffering that may not even feel like misery, or feel like it was caused by it. In the end, it's your own choice.

Member: 'Felicity93'... "Before I realised I had depression (I was told by my doctor), I was crying all the time- in fact, crying myself to sleep every night.     Now, I hardly ever cry, as I find it too hard to do. When I was depressed, didn't know what my crying was all about, really. I just seemed to be crying all the time, then. I think I maybe cried for all the times I hadn't cried, if you know what I mean.     I don't cry a lot, now I am feeling better. But, in the past...yes- all the time, for about 4 months, crying most of the day and crying myself to sleep, most nights. I'm mostly unable to cry. I think I'm too reserved - 'too British' - you know? I would like to be able to be more free." "I think I find it hard to cry when I am feeling close to normal. Maybe, I would be better off if I could cry more easily. I don't know why I can't cry easily...I just don't seem to have the ability to.     Maybe, it's my upbringing, being told not to be a cry-baby - the 'pull yourself together' approach that has programmed me to stifle my emotions. But, I don't like to cry in front of my children, as I know they would be upset by this...I don't care what any others think.     I think crying is good for you and I should cry more often. It makes you feel better! It's like a release of emotions, somehow...I seem to feel calm after a good cry.     I think it's important to cry when you need to as it helps to release hormones and that makes you feel calmer, later. I think it's a good thing to do- that's why we have the ability to do it. Sometimes, I wish I could just let go!     Maybe that's to do with the control issue of anxiety...I don't know. I do think a good cry is good for you, at times, but the inability to cry when I would like is not easy, to me, except for when my depression is (was) really bad- then, I could cry buckets.     Maybe, I needed that release to help me recover, only...I was crying every night and I didn't know why (or question why, at the time) but I was in a mess and my Doctor had to tell me what was wrong with me and put me on medication." "I do know I had forgotten how to laugh and that's important, too. Maybe, we have the ability to cry for a reason and..." "...maybe we should think again before we tell our children to stop being 'cry babies'!" "I think this stiff-upper-lip attitude, which was present in my house as I was growing up, maybe does more harm than good, at times. If my children cry, I tend to comfort them and let them have a good sob, but don't comment too much on it as I don't want them to feel they can't cry or that it's unacceptable - and they are all boys!     I know it's different, the way boys are brought up, but still...I don't want them to suffer the problems I have by stopping their emotions. Anyway, I don't think it's silly when men cry- they are human after all."

SEXUALITY

THIS IS ALSO IMPORTANT!

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'Sex is part of Nature!  I go along with Nature!'  (Marilyn Monroe)

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Your libido isn't really there just for fun and your libido is very aware of that! (Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know all about this belly-button stuff!  I've read toilet walls and things!  I've watched Oprah!  Okay???)
    It was given to you, originally, to create an entire, continuing human race (not single-handedly, of course! The pressure of work may get, well...u-u-uh...on top of you, from time to time! Ahum!) Anything that large and that globally essential, in Nature, is unlikely to go away for a well-timed cube of sugar and a neatly placed pat on the head!

It won't be suppressed, easily, if it's already turned into merely some subconscious stressor because of conscious troubles and problems in your life.

Member: 'ErikPA'... "As a Male, I think most of us are high sexed, and I've never been one who would turn down a...roll in the hay!" Important Editorial Comment On That Last Comment... ! ...Thank You! No Further Comment! "I'm 100% sexually frustrated! My wife has, for the past 10 years, entered into what I like to call 'Mommy Mode'- being a Mommy holds more interest than having sex, and, when we do for her, it's more of a 'Let's just get it over with' feeling, than actual enjoyment. Any single women on the board?" "I think repressed sexual feelings worsen anxiety of any kind. As humans, we are meant to express ourselves in sexual ways when we're with somebody that were attracted to.     If those feelings are repressed, then inner sexual tension will build up. And...it's been proven that people who have more sex are happier and live longer." "So, as you can already guess..." "I'm unhappy and my days are numbered!" "I think some of my Health Anxiety can be attributed to my repressed, frustrated sexual feelings.     I don't think that they are the cause of my Health Anxiety, but, any time any feeling or thought is repressed long enough, it will lead to an increase in anxiety and also...depression.     I know that I have repressed sexual feelings, and being unable to act on those feelings leaves me, at times, very frustrated. I think that, if a person is able to release repressed sexual feelings, it could help with any anxiety disorder and improve their frame of mind." "I have discussed this likelihood with a friend of mine, and she was in total agreement with me.     Her thoughts were that Society teaches people that repressing sexual feelings is normal and good. Her thoughts, and mine, were that...if our inner feelings are repressed for a long enough time, it could take a toll on mental health...that repressing feelings of any kind over a long enough period would affect a person's mental well-being.     Unrealized sexual goals can affect what somebody thinks of himself or herself, which will lead to negative self-talk, such as 'I'm too fat', 'I'm ugly', 'Nobody would want me', and, when you tell yourself those things, over an extended period, you begin to believe them, yourself." "I feel that my unrealised sexual feelings (while not directly related to my Health Anxiety) are certainly related to my overall general anxiety.     If I could make those unrealised sexual feelings come true, my overall anxiety level would drop...but, yes- I do think that it would help with my anxiety."

So, deep inside you, this sex drive, this need for sexual/erotic satisfaction, will live and smoulder, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA THAT IT IS THERE! And, while it IS there, you will know no rest from that area. You won't necessarily feel horny...you'll feel agitation, over-reaction and occasional hyper-activity (either mental or physical.)

Member: 'JeepFlower'... "This is one area where I've never really felt that comfortable in discussing, perhaps due to societal pressures and expectations.     I don't think it's really 'okay' for a female to admit to having a high sex drive, because that will most likely earn her the label of promiscuous. I consider myself probably in the 'medium' category." "Of course, in the beginning of my relationships, I was very easily aroused and ready for a...'roll in the hay'... Another Important Editorial Comment On That Last Comment! (Brought to you from the maker of the last Important Editorial Comment On That Previous Last Comment...thing...) ! ...Thank You! No Further Comment! "...but that has worn off in time." "I would say that I probably sexually frustrate myself, only because I do not freely express myself.     There is definitely ample opportunity, but for some reason I hold that part of myself back, and it wouldn't surprise me if that had quite a bit to do with my Health Anxiety." "People's sexual feelings need an outlet of some sort, and when that outlet either isn't there or is not being utilized, then it seems natural that those repressed feelings would surface somewhere, to be dealt with." "It would be interesting, indeed, if I were to 'let myself go' enough to bring about any improvement or amelioration in my Health Anxiety. It's not that I don't trust my partner...it's that I can't bring myself to be free about my sexuality." "I had been 'date-raped' at college, and back then it wasn't something anyone wanted to discuss. I had gone for therapy at the college, and the counselor (male) had made me feel as though it were my fault (really!)     Looking back, I should definitely have switched counselors, but at that time I was just too overwhelmed and just soldiered on.     I don't know if I can blame that incident on my repression or Health Anxiety, though. My Health Anxiety didn't kick in seriously until a few years later.     I do have lots of fantasies, mainly about old boyfriends, and feel guilty about that.  I do feel that I am cheating my partner out of a mutually satisfying sexual relationship by 'faking it', and that I am cheating myself."

REAL EDITORIAL COMMENT:  Just as before, the choice is up to you!  Sexual frustration may be joked about and might feel enjoyable, from time to time, but...powerful sexual drives that are repressed also very often surface in ways totally unrelated to sex, or sexuality!

• Find ways to remove that repression!
• Find methods to unblock those blockages!
• Get the help that you need, if you feel that repressed sexuality is worsening your overall background level of anxiety!"

And, if talking about your repressed sexual feelings is all you can bring yourself to do, right now?...then, do that talking...soon!

PHYSICAL FITNESS

THIS MAY ALSO BE ESSENTIAL!

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'Exercise ferments the humors, casts them into their proper channels, throws off redundancies, and helps Nature in those secret distributions, without which the body cannot subsist in its vigor, nor the soul act with cheerfulness.'

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) - 'The Spectator' (July 12th, 1711.)

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This may not apply to some readers, but, to the majority, it could easily be very important!

The fitter your body, the fewer are the new aches, pains and other things that tend to stand out during times of our wandering minds and imaginations. That's not too bad at starving our Health Anxiety of fuel to burn us up with.

But, it's not just fitness that is important, in this exercise.

So, there you have them, again...

...some very easy and very basic therapies, with great power involved in them and a sound basis in human developmental history - prehistoric style, sometimes!

They're nothing I've not posted about, before, to try to help!

This is a page of good practical advice - practical in the sense that...

THEY CAN BE DONE...BY YOU!

But, just as doctors often warn that 'pills do you no good in the bottle', those therapies do you no good only on your computer screen, or on some paper! It's worth reading that over, no matter how bland or obvious it may appear!

Obviously, sometimes, some sufferers simply cannot do one, or two, of those.

• A sufferer from Health Anxiety, who lives their entire, daily life in a wheelchair, for example, wouldn't be seen outdoors, running in shorts and training shoes...limitations must apply to some folks, at some times.

• A blind woman may not want to have a lot to do with photography, given that she'd never feel any real feedback of the type that photography once gave to me, a sighted individual, for another example.

Obviously, the list and the massive sub-list of your own ideas, must be shaped to fit the individual (or mutually caring couple, for example, who may've decided to go running together, etc..)

Let's recap...

1. CREATIVITY!
2. RAGING!
3. CRYING!
4. SEXUAL NEED!
5. FITNESS/EXERCISE!

These are all areas that CRY OUT for more attention for an Health Anxiety / Hypochondria sufferer.

THERE IS NO REASON TO NOT BE ON MEDICATION, OR SEEING A THERAPIST, WHILE YOU ARE USING THESE OUTLETS AND THERAPIES!

THE COMBINATION WILL BE EXTREMELY POWERFUL AT DEFEATING THE WORST OF YOUR ANXIETY, IN THE LONGER-TERM!

But, please, remember to tell the doctor that is prescribing for you that you have embarked on a self-support drive - and, the same goes for any therapist, counsellor or psychologist/psychiatrist that you see as part of your ongoing wish to survive this mess. I'm an amateur - don't just read what I write and then rush out and try it for yourselves. Take the ideas that you come up with, after reading my web pages and get your professional healthcare providers to discuss them with you, as therapeutic applications for your future of treatment/s.
    We can ignore these therapies/needs, at our peril, or attend to them, to our eventual delight.
    But, without a BATTLE PLAN, formulated to suit you, perfectly, just knowing that listing has no effect at all. The anticipation, alone, of making yourself feel emotionally and physically better is therapeutic; it adds something 'pointful' (rather than 'pointless') to your life and it makes you stop wanting to just give it all up and collapse in a psychiatric heap.
    And, without the readiness to start in on that list and to give adequate time to using the items on it, knowing the list is just as pointless.

Depression and Anxiety have 3 basic enemies...

MOVEMENT, ACTIVITY & DETERMINATION!

Every possible good thing outside you must be made to come in, or just be allowed in, where possible.

Every bad thing stored up and pressurising you, from within, must be made to come out, or just be allowed out. (This one feels like you're doing both at once...I've done it...I can promise you that it works!)

In the end, it's a personal choice...

Sink...or swim?

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