Anyone read "Hope and Help for your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weekes?

in her book, what does acceptance really means? i'm using it for overall anxiety and ocd. if it helps for other things i'll use it too for them.

is this acceptance the same as accepting TMS and or other things?

 

Saved my life!! Been reading it for many years. I also hear it on YouTube before I go to bed.

 

Dozens of times. It was like a Bible to me at my worst. Required reading imo.

 

When I was going through TMS recovery I applied Claire Week's methods to get rid of anxiety to my pain instead. So when I wanted to go and do something that I knew would cause me pain, I applied the face, accept, float and wait for time to pass method to it. Once the pain left and was replaced with anxiety, I applied the same method to that and it worked also. Her ideas are in line with the TMS methods of outcome independence but gives another view of it that many find effective.

 

for what exactly did you applied her method? it is helping me with a bunch of things.

 

i’m using her methods for a lot of things.

 

so basically you used her method to first relieve pain and then when anxiety is replaced with pain you use her method again to relieve anxiety?

I’m using her method for a bunch of things.

 

I read this book years ago, because "my friends" were suffering with anxiety. I don't remember details, except her concept of the gap, which I use a lot. I do remember that her approach made such sense to me. It is only last week, in journaling and self-inquiry that I realised that *I* have suffered (created) anxiety. I'm going to go get this book right now, and read it for ME. Thank you. (Then I'll be ready to comment properly.)

 

Yes that's how it went for me.

Here are a few bullet points from here book that are wonderful for TMS recovery:

- Accept everything about your illness.
- Do not waste energy trying to analyse every strange happening.
- Do not be dismayed by setback nor bluffed by memory.
- Do not despair when achievement seems unreal. Practice; never test.
- Do not be overawed by defeatist contemplation.
- Do not be dismayed if you feel nervier than ever when you first begin the journey to recovery.
- Do not be discouraged by physical illness.
- Above all, do not be shocked by returns of panic or by any strange flash experience.

She states that in any moment all we have to deal with is ourselves. It is our reaction to life that determines whether we suffer or not.

 

so far is helping me.

you’re welcome and thanks a lot for replying!

 

i have doubts,

what does she mean bullet 3 that wrote here? so applying her method with tms method for ocd is just to accept while not engaging with ocd and fearing it. heck i think she even says somewhere to do ocd on purpose. like doing ERP which is exposing myself. tbh, i’m applying her methods and tms methods to everything because of what i have been through.

thanks a lot for replying!

 

I have used her methods in conjunction with congitive soothing as laid out by @plum and @JanAtheCPA with great success, I no longer fear anxiety and sometimes even look for it to come so I can practice when symptoms arrive.

What I take from Weekes work is to never turn away in blind panic from a jolt of anxiety and the related ‘What If!?’ thought. In those moments, drop your guard and feel the physical sensation of anxiety in your body, breathe into it and feel it’s energy without letting it trick you and bloom into a cycle of blind fear. In that moment, breathe deep, say ‘it’s ok, you are safe’ and self soothe.

With this method my chronic anxiety cleared up in weeks (sorry) and though I still have daily challenges, when it comes knocking the ferociousness of the fear is diminished, somewhat impotent even.

So yes, get stuck right in.

 

so in my case, whenever ocd comes i’ll just accept and don’t ocd about what i’m ocding and just continue my life without trying to fight it? yeah that’s what i’m trying to do. sometimes i get stuck in the ocd and it’s hard to stop while performing the ocd. i’m slowly doing it on purpose too.

 

I think there was a question about acceptance in this thread. I read a bit in the book again, and I think acceptance is not fighting, not wishing a feeling to be other than it is. Letting it happen, like Viridian and stevow7 just described. The spiritual paths I follow also emphasise acceptance like this. I like that I seem to be "getting it" in all areas, mind, body and spirit. Acceptance seems to lead to allowing. All of it is the opposite of fighting against something, calling it wrong, wishing it was different, and trying to change it. Thank you for the reminder, and the chance to say it out loud here, so I can understand and appreciate it even more.

 

@stevow7 you asked me about this today, via PC, but I don't answer questions privately, only here on the forum.

The last time I had OCD was two very short (a few weeks each) incidents when I was age 6 and again at age 9, so I can't answer from personal experience, I can only answer generally. However, it's well-accepted here that OCD is just another form of TMS.

I'm sorry to see that once again you have allowed your unconscious brain to distract you and hold you back, worrying about unimportant details! Plenty of people have responded to your post, but they clearly aren't the responses you wanted!

I suspect that you are hung up because Claire Weekes doesn't mention OCD. However, your conscious brain should know that OCD is just a more complicated and pernicious form of anxiety with addictive elements included. Dr. Weekes addresses anxiety and depression, and we all know here that addictions are a TMS equivalent. Once again, your brain doesn't want you to progress so it is wasting your precious time and energy obsessing about this minor detail.

You give good responses, but then you always end with another question, seeking answers outside of yourself. Again - you need to remind yourself, over and over, that this is your primitive brain trying to hold you back without making any progress. The answers you seek MUST come from within you, but you also have to keep fighting back against the negativity.

 

@JanAtheCPA, i thank you so much for being straightforward. i’m going to stop seeking advice so much and clear my mind, stop my addictions and find happiness in life. as you clearly see, i posted a lot about “should i do this or that” and a lot of other things. i did let my mind control me.

another reason why i ask around is because i’m also trying to understand clearly what Weekes says and trying to relate it to tms. which, even tho i accept and believe in tms 100% i still need to understand some stuff that sarnos, steve and probably other people use that i don’t fully understand. probably because my english or because i just don’t know the meaning.

but i’m going to improve my life. i did started, but got stuck. now i know why and now healing started to, once again, continue.

the thing i really don’t understand very well is the conscious vs unconscious vs subconscious mind and what exactly should i do with it when it comes to tms. also de ego that steve mentions in his book.

again, thanks for being honest.

 

hey! yup! acceptance is key! you said you were going to read the book for yoursef this time instead of reading it for someone else right? keep us updated!

 

If you think this is a problem of language, all you need to do is to find an explanation of Freudian theory in your language. Just make sure it's an article meant for the average reader, not for psychiatric professionals.

 

thanks a lot for replying!

 

I’m even thinking of re reading Sarno's “Healing Back Pain” again to refresh my mind and understand it better.