"The woman who cracked the anxiety code."

[Jeff1943]

Australian Doctor Claire Weekes on the deck of her home overlooking Sydney Harbour.

[1973m]

This lady , literally saved my life.. 16 years ago.. reading her book , was the difference between taking my life or carrying on .. ups and downs along the way but ultimately I’m glad I did the latter!!

[Jeff1943 in reply to 1973m]

Thank you for sharing that, 1973m. I hope her writings continue to bring you respite and comfort. We must not forget what we have learned and continue to practice it if need be.

[Anselm]

how did she crack it, I know it's not really possible to summarize it. Did she suggest behavorial or cognitive changes, change in life habits? Not everyone can read the book. Thanks for giving an idea

[Jeff1943 in reply to Anselm]

Doctor Claire Weekes cracked it by applying a method she devised herself to recover from anxiety disorder. A case of physician heal thyself.

Her method is based on changing our habit of fear whenever we experience the symptoms of anxiety and replacing it with Acceptance (for the time being). She believed that when we reach a state of anxiety overload our nervous system becomes over sensitised and in this state it produces all the symptoms with which we are familiar.

Nervous sensitisation is maintained by the fear hormone we constantly produce as a reaction to our symptoms. This creates a vicious circle.

Weekes' method teaches us to replace fear with 100% acceptance of our symptoms (for the time being) through understanding and reassurance.

We are taught to stop fighting our anxiety because fighting produces stress and tension and our nerves need less not more of that.

Her method involves four imperatives: Face - Accept - Float - Let time pass.

So the flow of fear hormone ceases and our nervous system loses its over-sensitivity and returns to normal and we recover our quiet mind.

Although initially rejected by the psychiatric fraternity the concept of Acceptance has became widely used and she was nominated for a Nobel Prize and rewarded with the M.B.E. in the Queen's birthday honours.

[Anselm in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you, that's very interesting

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you for explaining this Jeff.

I guess it's not about accepting ourselves but accepting the "feeling" of anxiety? Is this what you mean?

I find it hard to accept myself and I think this would lead to more tension for me.

I notice you said "for the time being" Do you mean in the present/ no projection into the future?

Thank you again for spending the time to explain her ideas.

[Jeff1943 in reply to Hidden]

Yes that's right, Willow, it's all about accepting the feelings and symptoms of anxiety disorder including health anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, derealisation, agoraphobia, claustrophobia, feelings of impending doom.

Weekes claimed that her method if practiced persistently could bring recovery to everyone no matter how long or deeply they have suffered.

We should accept the symptoms knowing they are only feelings imposed on us by an over sensitive nervous system. The power of anxiety is limited: it cannot disable us, kill us or make us lose our minds.

Even though anxiety symptoms are most uncomfortable we should continue with our normal daily life: if we had arthritis or a sore throat we would continue to function despite the discomfort. Why then should high anxiety be any different?

The reason I emphasise acceptance "for the time being" is to make the point that she was not asking you to accept the symptoms for ever but only temporarily as therapy but only for as long as it is needed.

Claire Weekes wrote 5 books on the subject but the first slim volume is the one that describes in full what is required: in the u.k. the book is titled ''Self help for your nerves" whilst the same book in the u.s. is titled "Hope and help for your nerves." It can be ordered new or used from Amazon and Ebay and there is an ebook version.

If you should decide to read it do remember it was written in the early 1960s when social customs and gender roles were different from today. Customs may change but anxiety remains the same.

She died 25 years ago at the age of 87.

We are all work in progress and should accept ourselves at whatever stage we have reached in the evolution to higher forms which is the purpose of life.

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

I've been reading your other posts Jeff and this sounds very good, many thanks again.

Before I buy the book my question is: how do I change my attitude of 'putting up' with anxiety to 'accepting' it? I experience anxiety doing a number of activities especially coming out of my comfort zone eg travelling abroad which isn't a familiar activity (usually once a year) I try not to let it affect me, in that I don't let it prevent me from enjoying a holiday, but the run up, the sleepless nights beforehand get me down and don't get any better the older I get! This is one example.

Sorry to ask you this. For myself I've found that reading self help books tend to have limited impact, tend to be too theoretical and difficult to translate into practice.

I've always coped with anxiety by either trying to ignoring it and pushing through or allowing the anxiety to limit my life which has been frustrating in itself.

Just typing the above I can see that's not acceptance! I wonder if you might be able to illustrate what acceptance of anxiety means? Thank you!

[Jeff1943 in reply to Hidden]

I may not be doing justice to Weekes' method, I am not a mental healthcare professional, but here goes.

True acceptance means cultivating a state of mind through understanding whereby it is no longer important whether you feel the symptoms of anxiety or not.

You know that anxiety's days are numbered because you understand why you have it and how to recover from it and are willing to let time pass.

To begin with you may only achieve acceptance for a few minutes, that's called 'glimpsing' and you can gradually build on that.

By learning to live with anxiety you will be able to live without it. "So I'm feeling very uncomfortable with this muscular tension in my chest. So what? Who cares? I now know it isn't heart failure and because I no longer feel the need to fear it I stop flooding my nerves with adrenaline which anxiety feeds on. So it will pass!"

Weekes also has something to say about the problems that cause our anxiety and which must be neutralized with ruthlessness if necessary. Over-work, toxic relationships, worry about a loved one, grief, loss, disappointment, guilt, shame. If needs be take the advice of a trusted and intelligent confidant - and if it really can't be changed then look at it from another viewpoint.

"So I'm going abroad on holiday and know I will enjoy it but the run up to it and the things that need to be done and could go wrong are causing me anxiety.

"I will accept the bad feeling, the panic, the sleeplessness knowing I have nothing to fear, it is only a feeling.

"By accepting the feeling unconditionally and without fear and without fighting it my nervous system will recover. I have replaced fear, and more importantly the fear of fear, with acceptance."

Or in my case: "I have a few missed heart beats today, I know it is always linked to anxiety, I know from previous experience it is harmless. I simply can't be bothered to fear it. ANXIETY - I LAUGH IN YOUR FACE!"

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you again Jeff, this is good and something to be worked towards.

I've recently been reading about how important is to validate oneself, especially if you never received this (validation) growing up and C.W's approach seems to tie in with this from your example.

My mother "couldn't cope" with my anxiety although being anywhere near her induced it. Difficult when you're a child! So, I learnt to bottle it and suffer in silence.

I've continued in this way over many years but now time to change methinks!

Was it difficult for you to adopt C.W's outlook?

[Jeff1943 in reply to Hidden]

High anxiety runs in my family on my mother's side going back to Victorian times I was told. I think high anxiety is genetic or inherited in about a third of cases. Some people deny this saying it is nurture not nature ie. we are 'taught' to be over anxious by over anxious parents.

Anxiety disorder made itself known in my case in 1974 when I had my one and only anxiety attack. Later that year I noticed Claire Weekes' first 2 books on my mother's bookshelf and acquired my own copies. I hid it from my parents to protect them from worry, friends and work colleagues. I started taking valium/diazepam twice or three times a day (3x2.5mg) for a year then decided to come off them cold turkey. Felt dreadful so I tapered off them over 3 months. I have a very high regard for the respite valium can bring when used correctly (ie. on a daily basis for short periods or just occasionally when needed).

Then I started to practice CW's method seriously. It took time but I eventually felt the full benefit. Remember, with me it's inherited and if that's the case it can keep returning but by the late 1970s I was clear. Twenty years later it returned due to worries about one of my daughters. I spent a grand at the Priory Clinic for a Cognative Behavioural Therapy course which I couldn't understand and did nothing for me. I was also put on amitriptyline 3x25mg a day which was highly effective. I revisited my Claire Weekes books and recovered. Now I'm pretty clear.

CW used to say that even if your anxiety disorder was inherited and likely to reoccur and you recover using her method then she considered you cured. Because if it returned you knew how to deal with it.

I don't know what validating oneself means, I'm afraid I've always been comfortable about myself which is probably why the CBT never worked for me.

I have been on this forum 3 years and have interested a lot of people in Claire Weeke's teachings as have several other CW devotees like Agora1 and Beevee. We stick around to pass the message on. "So where are all the people on this forum who have recovered using Acceptance?" some people sometimes ask. "They no longer need to be here because they've recovered" I answer.

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

Amazing recovery Jeff, and it's great your determination and hard work have paid off.