About 20 years ago I had a bit of a life crisis. My hairdresser told me that my hair was starting to thin, a shock for a man in his mid-twenties. I guess that my sense of self was pretty thin, or that I didnt have a good grasp of what was important in life. I suppose that I panicked and focussed on my hair, looking for the hard evidence. It seems a little foolish now, but things spun out of control and I fell, without knowing it, into an anxiety syndrome. Of course, I didnt find out about my affliction for over three years, largely because doctors thought I was just over-stressed and needed to relax. Thats exactly what I would like to have done.
To cut a long story short, an anxiety syndrome occurs when a person has a physical reaction, such as a churning stomach, palpitation or panic attack, usually as a result of a period of sustained stress or shock or such like. In my case, the anxiety manifested itself as a band of pain or tension around my head. Such an attack can often panic the sufferer into other similar attacks, until the very fear of these disturbing symptoms brings on more and more bewildering assaults. Fear creates an ongoing cycle.
A wise doctor that I saw some three years after I fell into this pattern recognised the syndrome and gave me a wonderful book, Self-Help for your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes. Within a few months I was a lot better. I fact, the book saved my life and my gratitude to the late author is boundless. I still suffer occasional bouts of the syndrome, in fact, I am at the present. But I know, despite their debilitating nature, that I will come through.
To anybody who suffers from nervous illness, I recommend this book.
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