Here are 14 Do's and Don'ts as expressed by Doctor Claire Weekes (1903-1990), the author of 'Self help for your nerves' also titled 'Hope and help for your nerves'.
"1. Don't run away from fear.
2. Accept all the strange sensations connected with your anxiety disorder, recognise them as temporary.
3. Let there be no self-pity.
4. Settle your problems as quickly as you can, if not by action then by accepting a new point of view.
5. Waste not time on 'what might have been' and 'if only".
6. Face sorrow and know that time will bring relief.
7. Be occupied, don't lie in bed brooding. Be occupied calmly, not feverishly trying to forget yourself.
8. Remember that the strength of the muscle depends on the confidence with which it is used.
9. Accept your obsessions and be prepared to live with them temporarily. Do not fight them by trying to push them away. Let them do that.
10. Remember that your recovery doesn't depend entirely on you as so many people are ready to help you. You may need help. Accept it willingly, without shame.
11. Do not be discouraged if you cannot make decisions while you are ill. When you're well it will be easy enough to make decisions.
12. Don't measure your progress day by day. Don't count the months, years you have been ill and be dispirited at the thought of them. Once you're on the road to recovery, recovery is inevitable no matter how protracted your illness may have been.
13. Never accept defeat. Remember it is never too late to give yourself another chance.
14. Face - Accept - Float - Let time pass. If you do this, you must get well."
These do's and don'ts are not meant to replace reading Weekes' first book for those wanting to use her four protocols for recovery which I will repeat: Face - Accept - Float - Let time pass.
Written by
Jeff1943
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Hi Agora, I saw an email from you a few days ago, you were suffering, I did not write the date and time down, so I have not been able to find it. I hope by now You are feeling stronger, I love your email reply's to other people in our group, you are so insightful, sharp and intelligent. So as I said I hope you are on the mend.I will look out for other mails from you, so I can write the date/time down then I will be able to find you and write to you. I get so many emails each day and I cannot reply to them all. I have other things going on in my life, I go to therapy twice a week, I also do volunteer work at the library two afternoons a week, I really love both these activities, my therapist is wonderful, she gives me a 2 hour session, but only bills for 1. How lucky can I get? She also makes me hot chocolate!!! Take good care of Agora, we need you, you are So helpful. I send you Love & Big Hugs....Sprinkle 1.........xxx ooo
Thank you for this, I needed this today as I am feeling particularly bad. Can you tell me please how you 'float' past your feelings? I have tried so had to ignore them but seem to get so overwhelmed.
If you are trying hard to ignore the bad feelings then you are doing the opposite of accepting them.
When asked your question Weekes replied; "It means to go with the feelings, offering no tense resistance, just as you would as if floating on calm water, let your body go this way and that with the undulating waves. Let the moment of intense suffering float past you or through you. Do not arrest it...loosen towards it." She alternatively referred to floating as ''masterly inactivity".
Weekes pointed out that recovery is rarely a case of unrelenting progress: set backs are to be expected but so long as it's a case of 'three steps forward, one step back' we are doing well and should not be disappointed.
There are people who are expecting almost instant relief the moment they start accepting. Practice acceptance in the morning, start feeling fine in the afternoon. It does not work like that: acceptance gives the nervous system a break from the flow of fear hormone that has been keeping it over sensitised but our nerves still take time to recover.
So don't be testing yourself every fifteen minutes to see if you notice any improvement. This is pressure you can do without. Recovery comes when it's ready. You probably spent months, even years, to get into this state. Allow a few weeks to get out of it.
Weekes claimed that anybody who employed her protocols of Face, Accept, Float and Let time pass can recover no matter how long or how deeply they have suffered.
As always great advice to live buy especially when you were as my therapist said
“ handed down a gift of anxiety from your parents”
Funny how she put it because it sure hasn’t been a gift lol or felt like a gift but I understand what she means.
It’s made me be more compassionate towards others and made me search way down deep at times and grow but it’s a hard thing to live with especially if your busy fighting it.
Thank you for your constant help and wisdom Jeff. You should be given an award for yr tireless help to all those that are lucky enough to know you. Big hugs to you 😘
Hello Thank You for writing this email, I hope more people buy Dr. Claire Weeks books, if people would practice the lessons she hands out they would heal faster. She is not making a lot of money, she passed on in 1990. Stay well, sending love & hugs...Sprinkle 1.....
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